Taco Soup

So much for my promise to be a better food blogger... I am still adjusting to working and being a mom. Dinners were easy to make when you had time in the middle of the day or late in the afternoon, but when you get home from work at 6:30 or 7:00 and your feet hurt and your eyes are heavy and your kids need and want 100% of your attention dinner sometimes is sacrificed. Soups, from a can -- gasp! with a loaf of bread or crackers, sandwiches or salads become commonplace. I love to cook and I miss it terribly. But I am just too tired. I love to write and I miss it tired. But I am too tired. So blogging about my recipes has once again taken a back seat. While the snow days have thrown a wrench in my day and in my plans... I can not run my errands and do the work that I need to that has been building up due to loud children with extreme cases of Cabin Fever. But, I can cook! And somehow, yesterday, I managed to take a nap!

When I woke up it was practically dinnertime. I needed to create something warm, hearty, healthy and nutritious. I decided on Taco Soup. I use ground turkey instead of ground beef... I use salsa, low sodium chicken broth, taco seasonings, black beans and corn. For an added treat I found some Baked Tostitos Scoops. I wondered whether they would hold up. They did and they were delicious! So a hearty and healthy meal indeed. And a crowd-pleaser for sure!

Ingredients:

1 medium jar of good quality chunky salsa
1 carton of College Inn lower sodium chicken broth
1 lb ground turkey
2 tbs olive oil
Taco seasonings (I used a pre-measured package by McCormick)
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of corn kernels, drained and rinsed
1 package shredded cheese, optional
1 tortilla chips (Baked Scoops) optional
2 cups of cooked rice

In a large pot add chicken stock and salsa and heat over medium high heat
Add beans and corn
When soup base starts to simmer lower heat
In a skillet add a tbs or two of olive oil and heat.
Add the ground turkey and the taco seasonings and brown the turkey.
As the turkey starts to cook and brown, begin crumbling it with a fork, spoon or spatula
When the turkey is cooked add it to the soup.
If there is a good bit of meat in your pan you can deglaze it with some of the soup and add it back into the soup pan.
Keep soup warm on low heat.
In a small pan cook rice so that rice yields 2 cups when cooked, (I use Uncle Ben's and follow the directions on their box.)

When the rice is done I scoop out a generous helping of soup with a ladle and add a big spoonful of the rice into the bowl and mix well.

We garnish with shredded cheese.