Clean Taco Soup

Well, it's cold outside.  And, I've got a freezer full of grass-fed beef since our half of Georgie came home from the meat packaging plant (I don't know. It's just what the kids decided to name him).  So, it seems like a good time to make a big pot of Clean Taco Soup.

Lots of taco soup recipes will invite you to toss in a packet of store-bought taco seasoning mix.  I could do without the unrecognizable ingredients found in some packets; plus, all the ingredients needed to create the same effect are waiting patiently in my spice cabinet.

So, forgo the packet and make your Taco Soup the clean way, using whole ingredients that you recognize.

Throw it all in a CrockPot:

1-1.5 lb. cooked ground beef
a can black beans, rinsed and drained (or 1/2 lb. dry beans, cooked)
a can/jar diced tomatoes
box/jar of your favorite broth (I used chicken because I have a ton made up right now)
1 can corn, drained or 1 c. frozen
1 Tbs. each of chili powder, ground cumin, garlic powder, and onion powder
1/2 to 1 tsp. crushed red pepper
salt to taste

Give it at least a few hours in the CrockPot, but you could leave it all day on low, if necessary.  Serve it up alongside a salad or as a stand alone meal with shredded cheddar and tortilla chips.  Yum!

It fogged up the lens of my camera. :)

Everyone gobbled it up.  But, Girl 1, who has a tendency to eat like a bird, kept going back for more and was the last one to push away from the table.  "It's like Mexican chili!"  Yep, it's pretty tough to beat!