Taco Soup

As of today, I am on vacation.  Vacation from baking for other people taking orders until Nov. 4.  Let's face it, baking/cooking cannot be escaped, even if it's just for family.  I like it, it's my love language, it's alright with me to do it every day.

Today, someone called me "The Cake Lady."  I felt as if I had arrived, if only for a moment.  Then I had to speed home and cater a lunch for some peeps, which resulted in my kitchen having been the messiest it has ever, ever been.  But it's cleaned up now and all is right with the world.

Here is a recipe for something not sweet.  It's spicy, warm, and makes lots of leftovers.  At least, leftovers if you only have 2 peeps in your house like I do.

Peeps?  I don't know why I keep using that word.

You will need:
*1 lb of the meat of your choice.  I used ground turkey, but you could use beef, roasted chicken, or even go meatless.
*1 red onion, chopped
*1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
*1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
*1 cup corn
*3 chopped chipotle peppers in adobo
*1 can diced tomatoes
*1 can diced fire roasted tomatoes
*1 roasted poblano pepper
*1 large box chicken broth
*1 tsp minced garlic
*2 tsp cumin powder
*2 tsp ancho chili powder
*1 tsp kosher salt

What to do:
Cook the meat.  Or, if you're going meatless, start with the onion.  After the meat is browned nicely, saute up the onion.

After the meat and onions are browned/sauteed, you can either put them into your soup pot or do what I did, put them in the crockpot.  To that, you can add in the box of chicken broth, canned tomatoes, corn, and spices.  Add the beans in after they've been rinsed and drained.

Next is the chipotle in adobo.  A word to the wise: these are kind of spicy.  So....don't add 7 like I usually do.  I tend to go overboard.  I think 3 is enough for this soup.  Make sure to add a spoonful or two of the sauce.  You'll still have plenty left in the can so I recommend just putting it in a freezer-safe container and freezing it until you need it again.  Just in case you don't know what these are, here's a picture:

They cost less than a dollar.  It's smoked jalapenos in a delicously spicy sauce.

Then all you have to do is add in the smoked poblano.  A poblano pepper isn't spicy as much as it is flavorful.  If you like spicy foods, you'll enjoy this pepper, but even if you don't like spice I think you'll like the depth of flavor that a poblano brings to the pot.  I just charred it on the grill, put it in a bowl, covered it with plastic, and then peeled the skin off.

I like to leave a little of the char on because I like the flavor, but you can do what you want.  Just make sure you scrape out the seeds because that's where the heat is.

It's totally not necessary to add this at all to your soup.  You can even just saute it rather than char it.  I just felt like guilding the lily. :)

Feel free to swap out ingredients based on what you have in your cupboard.  That's the beauty of soup.  Also,this soup is essentially fat free.  Until you do this:

Crushed tortilla chips, sour cream, and cheddar cheese.  Why do I do it?  Because life's too short not to eat full fat dairy products from your local dairy farm.  Or from Kroger...whatever.

Until next time..........