Once again, North Texas betrayed us this week and regressed back to winter temps. Booooo. Just when I break out the self-tanner and sundresses, BOOM! It’s 30 degrees again. But, you know what they say about Texas: if you don’t like the weather, stick around a few days and it will change completely! #truestory
This week’s Supper Suggestion was born out of the desire to warm our insides with a hot meal. We LOVE taco soup, chili, etc. around here, so we don’t always wait to have a good excuse to make it, but when we do, it. is. on. This taco soup is my own recipe, thrown together in different variations each time based on what I have on hand. This way is pretty spicy (which we like)! If you need to tone it down for kids you can omit the spicier ingredients and use less taco seasoning.
Here’s the recipe I (mostly) stick to:
SIZZLIN’ TACO SOUP Print Version
Ingredients (double to have extra for leftovers and to freeze for a later date!)
1 lb ground beef
Taco Seasoning to taste (I make my own – recipe found here)
1 tsp red pepper flakes for extra spice
28 oz can diced tomatoes
Small can diced green chilies
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 large onion or 1 small onion, finely chopped
Fritos and shredded cheddar for serving
Instructions
In a large pot, brown the ground beef and season it with taco seasoning. Use however much you’d like. More for spicier and less for milder! (Don’t add salt if you’re using a lot of taco seasoning, because it will turn out too salty!)
Add the diced tomatoes, green chilies, red pepper, green pepper, and onion. (I slice the peppers and onion and put those in a food chopper to make them verrrry fine. Like almost puree. I love to have the flavor of them in the soup without having large chunks of peppers and onion. YUM.)
**NOTE: You can add more or less peppers, red pepper flakes, etc to get the desired flavor! 
Let this mixture get nice and bubbly, then let it simmer on low for as long as you’d like. The longer, the better! I usually let ours simmer 2-3 hours (unless we’re starving to death). Serve hot with plenty of shredded cheddar and Fritos!
VERDICT:
Me: Ohhh yeah. This is one of my absolute favorite things to eat. The leftovers are even better! AND it’s perfect for freezing! All the wins.
Hubs: LOVES IT. He loves when I make this and wants there to be tons of leftovers so he can have it multiple times.
11 & 7-Year-Olds: My 11-year-old is totally down with the spice and he loves this. My 7-year-old, not so much. He does like taco soup when I make it on the less spicy side.
2-year-old: No, I would never try to feed him a spicy taco soup. 😉
Leftovers: I LOVE to double (or triple) this recipe to have plenty of leftovers for the next day(s) and freeze some for another time!