Taco Bean Soup

Taco Bean Soup Dorcas Annette Walker A friend of mine sent me a Taco Bean Soup recipe and I was instantly intrigued. What a nifty way to introduce the younger generation to eating a healthy bean soup. Of course you know me, I had to experiment around. Since my husband isn't too crazy over Mexican or hot foods, I finally came up with a milder taco tasting bean soup that suits our family. My husband goes back for seconds every time I serve my Taco Bean Soup. 

 Tacos are a traditional Mexican dish composed of wheat or corn tortillas folded or rolled around a filling eaten without utensils. In Mexico the word taco is like our English word sandwich. The contents of a taco vary according to the geographical region where you are eating them. Tacos predate the arrival of Europeans in Mexico. Writings at the time of the Spanish conquistadors' document tacos. There are many types of tacos served today in Mexico, the United States, and Canada. In the early part of the twentieth century the U-shape version hard-shell tacos became popular. Mass production of U-shape tacos were deep-fried and then filled with seasoned ground beef, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and topped with sour cream. Soft tacos made of wheat flour tortillas use the same ingredients as the hard taco. In 1978 a variation called puffy tacos (uncooked corn tortillas fried in hot oil that expand and become puffy) originated in Texas became widespread. These tacos are also filled with various ingredients like the soft and hard tacos. Some well known tacos include: the shepherd-style taco, whose main ingredient is spiced pork, breakfast tacos, fish tacos, and chicken tacos. Taco Bell serves over two billion tacos each year. 

 My Taco Bean Soup is a colorful, thick, and filling soup that is a healthful addition to your diet, perfect for chilly days, and very easy to make. You can also prepare this soup in a Crockpot and let it simmer all day long. Instead of using crackers like regular soup, the Taco Bean Soup is eaten with corn chips. Any leftovers can be frozen and heated up on another day. My Taco Bean Soup takes around thirty minutes to prepare and this recipe serves sixteen.

Taco Bean Soup 

1-2 lb hamburger 

small onion diced 

garlic & regular salt and pepper 

2 (15 oz) cans of tomato sauce

 2 (15 oz) cans each of: 

pinto beans 

navy beans 

red kidney beans 

northern beans hot

 chili beans 

 1 pkg taco seasoning 

 Brown the hamburger and onion in a large kettle. Sprinkle with salts and pepper. Add the ten cans of beans, stir until all the ingredients are mixed together. Add taco seasoning bring to a boil and then simmer. Serve hot. You can garnish the Taco Bean Soup with shredded cheese and sour cream! 

  Weekly Tip: Soup tips: use cereal-size bowls, a crusty bread bowl, or hard taco shell to serve soup placed on a large plate with a folded napkin; serve soup from a pretty ceramic pot; and add a variety of finger appetizers to fill up your table when serving soup!

  Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin Blog at: http://www.dorcasannettewalker.com/