Taco Soup for the Soul

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Thursday, December 8th, 2011

Two words: taco soup.

It’s a concoction that I adopted from my father, who got it from his brother, who stole it from Mr. Tumnus in the magical land of Narnia after falling through the wardrobe.

It’s magical. A recipe passed down from generation to generation; a culinary treasure so fine that it must be guarded, cherished and kept close.

Ok, here’s the deal. It’s probably the best soup you’ve ever had because A.) It’s tasty and 2.) It’s so easy that even a half-man, half-goat from a fictional, bureau-inspired world could make.

Here’s what you do.

Throw whatever you want into a pot. Those kidney beans that have been sitting in the cupboard for 2 years? Throw ‘em in. That can of diced tomatoes you bought but never used? Into the pot. Canned corn, black beans, refried beans- oh my! They all go into the pot.

Now cover with chicken stock and bring to a boil. Once it’s boiling, throw a box of pasta in with any seasoning you like. I like Mexican chili powder, cayenne, garlic, powdered ranch seasoning packets, taco seasoning… even curry powder.

Now cook all that together until the pasta is tender and voila! You’ve got a hearty, delicious soup and just gotten rid of all those cans of food you never know what to do with.

I like to sprinkle the top of mine with fresh green onion and shredded cheese. And this soup will last forever! Lunch for days!

For those of you who like to have a recipe (my boyfriend goes absolutely bonkers when I just throw stuff into a pot without guidelines. “But how do you know how much to use?!” he cries.) I’ll just write down what I used last time but keep in mind- there is a lot of creative freedom with this soup so don’t feel like you need to follow it exactly!

Ingredients:

1 can of refried beans
1 can of black beans
1 can of cannellini beans
1 can of corn
1 can chopped black olives
1 can of diced tomatoes
½ jar of spicy salsa
2 cans of chicken (they look like tuna cans)
2 boxes of chicken stock
1 box of pasta (ditalini or macaroni works really nicely!)
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 packet of powdered ranch
Any seasoning you like: cayenne, garlic powder, salt, pepper, curry, Mexican seasoning, etc…
Suggestions for garnish: chopped green onions, shredded cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips

To make:

Put everything except the pasta into a large pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, dump in the pasta and cook until tender. One little tip- once you add the pasta, it will absorb a lot of liquid so keep the chicken stock on hand and add more as needed until it reaches your desired consistency.

It can also make a great vegetarian soup! Just swap the chicken stock for vegetable stock and leave out the chicken. Bam!

That may not have been much of a recipe but it works and it’s perfect for a chilly winter night at home! Make it and pass it on…

Enjoy!

– Jennie Whistler

Tags: beans, Family, food, Gut Check, Jennie, Mexican dishes, Northern Virginia Magazine, NoVA, nova mag, recipes, seasoning, soup, spicy, taco soup