Foodie Friday: Taco Soup, version 1

One thing I've recently realized is that I love soup. Like, a LOT. Love, love looooove soup. Even in the summer, I still crave me a good ol' bowl of soup. I keep telling myself it's insane to want soup when I could probably cook it on the pavement, but I've never claimed to be sane.

I have two recipes that I alternately call "taco soup", although one is more like a chili and the other is an actual soup. We're going to talk about the soup one today!

Years ago, I found a soup recipe on SparkRecipes called "5 Ingredient Soup". It sounded tasty on its own, but I can never leave well enough alone (and I like meat). Oh, and I hate tomatoes unless they're beaten to a pulp first, so that HAD to change. So here's my 7-ingredient soup variation that I short-hand to "taco soup"!

Ingredients:

• 1 can refried beans (I use Fat Free Rosita brand - you can't even tell, I swear!)
• 1 cup Chicken Broth
• 1 can corn (I buy the small 8oz can that my local store sells)
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can tomato sauce (8 oz is plenty)
• either 1/2 lb. uncased Italian sausage or ground meat (turkey, chicken, beef - I usually use 2 turkey Italian sausages, removing the meat from the casings)
• Hot sauce, to taste
• OPTIONAL: Sour cream, shredded cheese, tortilla chip "croutons"

Instructions:

1. Brown the meat of your choosing. Drain the grease and set aside.
2. Drain and rinse the black beans; drain the corn as well. 
3. Combine everything except the hot sauce in a decent-sized saucepan. Cook over medium,  until the refried beans are "melted", so to speak! (Hint: It'd be easier to mix the broth with the tomato sauce and refried beans first, and let the broth help "melt" the beans a little first by stirring them, THEN add the beans, corn, and meat. Just an FYI!)
4. As it nears completion, splash that hot sauce in! I love Trader Joe's hot pepper sauce - it's VERY spicy, so a few dashes will do ya; I'd say using the high-heat sauce I put in about a 1/2 tsp, and that was with tasting it every few splashes... but I like it spicy! It added a great "zing"!
5. Serve it up as is, or add the mix-ins if desired!

I made it for a day-date with my friend V and goddaughter E; E is a little too young to taste it, but V really liked it! She kept the leftovers for her husband to try, and reported back that he really enjoyed it as well. It's so simple, fast, and DELISH. Enjoy!


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