Easy Taco Soup

This soup is pretty much effortless and it's a definite crowd pleaser. I hardly know anyone who doesn't like a steaming bowl of taco soup. Serve it up with tortilla chips and your favorite toppings, and you're good to go! I made this for the worship team at my church and served it with mini corn muffins with finely chopped pickled jalapeno, bacon, and cheddar. No recipe for that as I just used my favorite Jiffy Corn Muffin mix (why mess with a good thing?) and added the "mix ins". It was a big hit!

Easy Taco Soup
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds ground beef or turkey
  
• 2 cups diced onions
• 2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans pinto beans
• 1 (15 1/2-ounce) can pink kidney beans
• 1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can tomatoes with chiles
• 2 (4 1/2-ounce) cans diced green chiles
• 1 (4.6-ounce) can black olives, drained and sliced, optional
• 1/2 cup green olives, sliced, optional
• 1 (1 1/4-ounce) package taco seasoning mix
• 1 (1-ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix
• Corn chips, for serving
• Sour cream, for garnish
• Grated cheese, for garnish
• Chopped green onions, for garnish
• Pickled jalapenos, for garnish

Directions

Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet; drain the excess fat, then transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot. Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chiles, black olives, green olives, taco seasoning, and ranch dressing mix, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove. To serve, place a few corn chips in each bowl and ladle soup over them. Top with sour cream, cheese, green onions and jalapenos.