Taco Soup

I have really been wanting a taco soup. 

It just sounded good to me.

And I have made some in the last year or so that was pretty good.

But when I saw this recipe via Pinterest, I was intrigued.  Cheesy Taco Soup?  I am for anything with the word "cheesy" in it!  And even better, I could easily adapt the recipe to accommodate my food sensitive kid.

My hubby prefers soup on really cold days.

Except we aren't really having many of those.

Which works for me.  I don't mind that at all.  I am not a fan of cold days.

Today was a bit "cooler" (though warm compared to the rest of the country) so today was my chance.

I love that it can be made fairly quickly.  And the cheese sauce in it is AMAZING.  I mean, it really is. I could have eaten a whole bowl of just that!  The rest of the soup was bonus. :)

The original recipe was just made on the stove.  I needed to make it a little early so I started it on the stove then moved it to the crockpot.  It worked.

My one piece of advice:  Eat slowly and DON'T overeat.

I thought I was starving. And it was so good.  So I ate two bowls.

Well, I am pretty sure the beans have expanded in my stomach.  It is five hours later and I am STILL full!

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef, browned (I used my usual 1.5 lbs)

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp flour

2 1/2 cups milk

salt and pepper

1 cup shredded cheese (The original recipe uses cheddar; I used a Colby Jack...YUM)

1 package taco seasoning (I used 1 Tbsp of a homemade version)

10 oz can Rotel, drained (I just used petite diced tomatoes)

15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

Note:  I also added 15 oz can of red kidney beans.

Crushed tortilla chips

Directions:
This is how I made it using both the stovetop and a crockpot.  The original recipe (link above) uses the stovetop.  It is your choice :)

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.

Whisk the flour into the butter.

Add 1 cup of milk.

Continue to whisk for about 3 to 4 minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.

Once the sauce has thickened, remove from heat.

Pour in shredded cheese.

Stir until smooth.

Did I mention how very yummy this is???

Oh, I ended up doubling the sauce.  I wanted more. I needed more.  Really I did. With the extra can of beans, I needed a little more sauce.  Plus it really was yummy.

Pour all of the ingredients (including the rest of the milk) into a crockpot.  Cook on low (I did turn it to high for a bit since my time was limited) until heated through.

I HIGHLY recommend adding crushed tortilla chips to the top.

Enjoy!