Easy Taco Soup ( Too easy to taste so good)

[gwpercle]

What to do with leftover chicken or turkey . We had a lot of dark meat turkey left over from Thanksgiving and Christmas in the freezer . I made stock with the bones and all was in the freezer . I was looking for something other than turkey gumbo last Sunday night and thought about the Taco Soup my mom used to make .
It was so easy to make and so good tasting I had to post it .
This makes enough to feed at least 6 hungry people and it sticks to your ribs .

Ingredients
1 - 2 Tablespoons butter
1 small - medium onion chopped
2 - 4 cloves fresh garlic
4 cups stock - chicken or turkey - (homemade or out the box is fine)
2 tablespoons Taco Seasoning (1 ounce McCormick Original Taco seasoning pkg.)
1 - 15 ounce can Whole Kernel Corn
1 - 15 ounce can Black Beans - rinse and drain if you like
1 - 15 ounce can Chili Beans (red beans)
1 - 7 ounce can medium fire roasted Green Chiles diced (you can use hot)
1 - 15 ounce can Petite Diced Tomatoes
1 - 10 ounce can mild Rotel Tomatoes w/Green Chilies (you can use hot)
2 - cups diced cooked turkey or chicken meat ( you can add more if you like)
Toppings :
Tortilla Chips
Sour Cream
Grated Cheddar Cheese

Instructions:
In a large dutch oven soften the chopped onion in the butter ( 5 mins.) , add chopped garlic and cook 1 min.
add the stock and all the ingredients listed except the cooked chicken/turkey and toppings and simmer on medium for about 45 mins . Add cooked turkey or chicken and simmer another 30 mins . Add more stock ( or water) if necessary .
Turn off fire and let rest 15 mins.
To Serve : place a few tortilla chips in the bottom of a bowl , fill bowl with hot soup and cover top with grated cheese and large dollop of sour cream ...eat along with more chips on the side .
Opening the cans is the hardest part , a great tasting easy fixing recipe .
Stores well in refrigerator and freezes well .
Tonight we are having the leftover soup we didn't eat Sunday or Monday night... it taste better the next day . The secrete is good flavorful stock ... if you must use water , season it with chicken and onion base , the kind in the jar .
This tastes a lot better than I expected it to ... a lot easier than making a pot of Gumbo !

Gary

[Der Gebirgsjager]

It sounds great! Will give it a try. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

DG

[gwpercle]

You are Welcome DG !
I know it doesn't look like much , but you don't need to know how to cook , it's filling and the taste is all out of proportion to what it should be.
Last night the wife and I finished off the leftovers and I think it taste better and ejoyed it more than my other old standby recipe "Leftover Turkey Noodle Soup" .
A kid off in college can fix a big pot and feed himself and a bunch of buddies quite nicely .
Gary

[T-Bird]

I'm gonna make this!

[gwpercle]

I'm gonna make this!

Let us know what you think .
My Daughter came over Sunday and one of the things she commented on was how really good that simple little recipe was and that she almost liked it better than a bowl of Chili ...
I was kinda thinking the same thing ... very filling and if you don't have time to make Chili ...this stuff will do nicely .
Remember to use a good flavored stock ... it can come out of a box !

It's cold here ... a bowl of hot Taco soup , Chili or Gumbo would be nice tonight !!!
Gary

[Sig]

Sounds awesome! Just did a copy/paste to my recipes.
Thank you

[Sig]

Just made this tonight. I smoked some chicken thighs & diced those up. Really enjoyed it.
Thank you Gary!

[ripshod]

Much better than I expected for as simple as it was.I will definitely make this again.Thank-you

[gwpercle]

To Sig , ripshod and anyone else who tried & liked this recipe ...

I'm glad you all enjoyed it ... it gets better the second day and it freezes well .
I also think it would be good made with browned ground beef or ground venison .

Nothing better than a quick easy meal that taste really good... and can be made with just about any meat on hand . Throw it together and impress friends and family especially if you don't spend a lot of time in the kitchen honing your cooking skills .
Gary

[gwpercle]

I want to Thank MaryB for making this Taco Soup recipe appear in our Cook Book Section .
I have no idea how that magic is performed , but it saves me a lot of re-typing !
Thanks Mary , this round's on me !
Gary

[MaryB]

Copy and paste! LOL I have 2 tabs open to this forum and have the cookbook open and this and just copy it over!

[T-Bird]

I made this today. I grilled the chicken thighs, it made about 4 cups of chopped chicken, the rest I did exactly as written. I agree with gw, this is better than it ought to be. To me, it didn't need any additional seasoning (I seasoned the chicken before I grilled it). That says a lot, I like a lot of seasoning. Wasn't able to use McCormicK taco seasoning no one here has it. I used Old El Paso. I can't imagine it mattered. (so I guess that's not EXACTLY as written )

[gwpercle]

I made this today. I grilled the chicken thighs, it made about 4 cups of chopped chicken, the rest I did exactly as written. I agree with gw, this is better than it ought to be. To me, it didn't need any additional seasoning (I seasoned the chicken before I grilled it). That says a lot, I like a lot of seasoning. Wasn't able to use McCormicK taco seasoning no one here has it. I used Old El Paso. I can't imagine it mattered. (so I guess that's not EXACTLY as written )

I'm glad you enjoyed it !
Taco seasoning is Taco seasoning ... any brand will do , I would call it exactly as written .

I have a sneaking hunch any of them "seasonings " in a packet ... Taco , Burrito , Enchilada or Chili ... would taste just fine ... I also think if you didn't have a pre-made packet on hand ...simply use Chile Powder , Garlic Powder , Onion Powder and Cumin and would make a fine seasoning ...just pretend you are making a pot of Chili ! The pre made seasoning packet is just for convience , nothing to measure , no jars of spices to fool with ... this recipe is all about Easy .

Don't forget ... it freezes well and it taste even better the next day .

Thanks for posting , I enjoy hearing about a successful recipe !
Gary

[T-Bird]

I'm glad it freezes well, there's 2 of us, it made about a gallon of soup. I'd feed this to people! I tell this to my wife when we have something good and she always says: " you are feeding it to somebody-- ME!" I agree about the seasoning packets, they are probably all close the the same thing. Felt I needed to clarify at the end of my last post, I hate looking at recipe reviews that say that they didn't have half the ingredients in the recipe so they did this and that and they loved it- they didn't even cook the dish they were reviewing. Anyhow

[gwpercle]

I'm glad it freezes well, there's 2 of us, it made about a gallon of soup. I'd feed this to people! I tell this to my wife when we have something good and she always says: " you are feeding it to somebody-- ME!" I agree about the seasoning packets, they are probably all close the the same thing. Felt I needed to clarify at the end of my last post, I hate looking at recipe reviews that say that they didn't have half the ingredients in the recipe so they did this and that and they loved it- they didn't even cook the dish they were reviewing. Anyhow

Whatever you do ... don't do what I did the very first time I made it ...
I doubled the recipe ...Yep ...Two Cans of everything ... you need a crowd ...
That will feed twenty people easy ... the wife and I have a freezer ...thank The Good Lord !
So I discovered frozen in a tight container it will keep for a year and still be good .
Gary

[MaryB]

If you roll your own keep in mind most of the taco seasoning packets have a thickener of some sort... often masa flour. Masa flour can be found in the ethnic section of most grocery stores, make sur the expiration date is a ways out because it can go rancid. I put it in a glass canning jar then in the freezer to keep it fresh longer.

Masa flour also works very well to thicken chili, just make a slurry using some of the cooled off cooking liquid or beer or water... then stir it in slowly, a couple drops at a time or you will get a masa flour dumpling! As you add stir fast/add the slurry slowly. Just like making gravy with corn starch or arrowroot powder.

Masa flour does add flavor and sweetness!

[T-Bird]

That's a great idea, I have masa for making tortillas, next time maybe. I do make my own chili powder but I've got some "taco seasoning" that I use that I also make that I use for fajitas etc. I could use that and then add the masa. I didn't know commercial taco seasoning had a thickener.

[gwpercle]

If you roll your own keep in mind most of the taco seasoning packets have a thickener of some sort... often masa flour. Masa flour can be found in the ethnic section of most grocery stores, make sur the expiration date is a ways out because it can go rancid. I put it in a glass canning jar then in the freezer to keep it fresh longer.

Masa flour also works very well to thicken chili, just make a slurry using some of the cooled off cooking liquid or beer or water... then stir it in slowly, a couple drops at a time or you will get a masa flour dumpling! As you add stir fast/add the slurry slowly. Just like making gravy with corn starch or arrowroot powder.

Masa flour does add flavor and sweetness!

Yes ...you are right ! I forgot how adding the commercial packet (McCormic brand) did in fact thicken it up nicely . I use masa harina Flour to thicken Chili and mixed with AP flour for frying fish , oysters and shrimp ...corn meal is too gritty but the Masa Flour would be just the thing .
I can't make chili with out the Masa Flour thickener and that flavor it adds ...
Thanks Mary ... for the reminder ...the thickener and flavor is important !
Gary

[gwpercle]

I'm fixing the Taco Soup recipe for supper tonight ... but using a pound of browned ground beef in place of turkey or chicken .
It has to simmer another 45 mins ... but it sure does smell good .
I'm glad it freezes well because it makes enough to feed a bunch of people .
Cold outside and it will be good tonight !
Gary

[Shiloh]

Easy is good!!|

Shiloh

What to do with leftover chicken or turkey . We had a lot of dark meat turkey left over from Thanksgiving and Christmas in the freezer . I made stock with the bones and all was in the freezer . I was looking for something other than turkey gumbo last Sunday night and thought about the Taco Soup my mom used to make .
It was so easy to make and so good tasting I had to post it .
This makes enough to feed at least 6 hungry people and it sticks to your ribs .

Ingredients
1 - 2 Tablespoons butter
1 small - medium onion chopped
2 - 4 cloves fresh garlic
4 cups stock - chicken or turkey - (homemade or out the box is fine)
2 tablespoons Taco Seasoning (1 ounce McCormick Original Taco seasoning pkg.)
1 - 15 ounce can Whole Kernel Corn
1 - 15 ounce can Black Beans - rinse and drain if you like
1 - 15 ounce can Chili Beans (red beans)
1 - 7 ounce can medium fire roasted Green Chiles diced (you can use hot)
1 - 15 ounce can Petite Diced Tomatoes
1 - 10 ounce can mild Rotel Tomatoes w/Green Chilies (you can use hot)
2 - cups diced cooked turkey or chicken meat ( you can add more if you like)
Toppings :
Tortilla Chips
Sour Cream
Grated Cheddar Cheese

Instructions:
In a large dutch oven soften the chopped onion in the butter ( 5 mins.) , add chopped garlic and cook 1 min.
add the stock and all the ingredients listed except the cooked chicken/turkey and toppings and simmer on medium for about 45 mins . Add cooked turkey or chicken and simmer another 30 mins . Add more stock ( or water) if necessary .
Turn off fire and let rest 15 mins.
To Serve : place a few tortilla chips in the bottom of a bowl , fill bowl with hot soup and cover top with grated cheese and large dollop of sour cream ...eat along with more chips on the side .
Opening the cans is the hardest part , a great tasting easy fixing recipe .
Stores well in refrigerator and freezes well .
Tonight we are having the leftover soup we didn't eat Sunday or Monday night... it taste better the next day . The secrete is good flavorful stock ... if you must use water , season it with chicken and onion base , the kind in the jar .
This tastes a lot better than I expected it to ... a lot easier than making a pot of Gumbo !

Gary