Taco Soup.

Boy, we’ve been having a lot of soup lately! But these days, as cold as it’s been (with more snow predicted for tomorrow!), soup really appeals to my taste buds in a way that it doesn’t the other, say, 10 months out of the year. In fact, as I check out my menu plan for the rest of the week I see that there are several more days of various and sundry soups coming down the pipe … and I’m totally OK with that.

But back to tonight. I made this Crock-Pot special for the first time a few weeks ago after my friend Jessica sent me the recipe, and it was such a hit at Chez Recessionista that I knew I had to whip up another batch in short order. Already it’s become one of LeeLee’s favorite dishes, and the best part is it takes about five minutes to make in the morning. What could be better?

Jess’ recipe is genius in its simplicity. Simply take some shredded chicken (we used Morningstar Farms strips, of course), put it in the Crock-Pot, and add a can of black beans, a can of corn, a can of chili beans, a can of Rotel (or, you know, in our case, Safeway Tomatoes and Green Chiles), a can of tomato sauce, and four cups of broth, mix in some minced onions, add a packet of taco seasoning, and let ‘er rip! After a long day at work, come home and eat up. And then – if you’re a family of two, like LeeLee and me – prepare to put plenty away in the fridge or freezer for later. :) It makes plenty!

So thanks, Jessica, for the great idea! This will be a wintertime staple, for sure.

The stats:

Chik’n strips: $4.99 ($2.50/person)
Black beans: $0.89 ($0.45/person)
Chili beans: $0.89 ($0.45/person)
Corn: $1.00 ($0.50/person)
Vegetable broth: $2.50 ($1.25/person)
Taco seasoning: $1.99 ($1.00/person)
Tomatoes and Green Chilies: $1.09 ($0.55/person)
Tomato sauce: $0.89 ($0.45/person)

GRAND TOTAL: $14.24 … or $7.15 per person.
BUT WAIT! This meal makes at least two more servings (and probably more, to be honest – it’s cooling now, so I’ve not put any in Gladware just yet). So the per-person price goes down even more!

:)