Taco Soup

I absolutely love tacos, but when fall and winter come I like to fill up on hearty and hot soup, not to mention the fact that lettuce and tomatoes start to become a little sketchy (and not as delicious)!  Cold weather and a craving for tacos got me craving this last winter.  What I especially love about this soup is how fast it cooks...only about 10 minutes!  The longest part of the process is browning the meat!  Now, I know most of you are probably cringing at the fact that this used to be a school cafeteria left overs dish, but this isn't your high school's taco soup!

Taco Soup 
Yields 6 generous servings

To Prepare the Soup
1. Brown 1 pound of ground beef in a large pot.  If you don't like beef, ground chicken or turkey works well too! 

2. After the meat is browned, add a packet of either mild chili seasoning or taco meat seasoning.  Cook this down for a few minutes!

3. Add 4 cans of condensed tomato soup, as well as 4 cans of water.  Don't use milk with this recipe!  The milk makes the soup too sweet in the end, while the water carries the other flavors better!

4. Blend in one can of refried beans.  Make sure they are mixed in very well and not stuck to the bottom of the pan!
5. Bring the soup to a boil.

To Serve the Soup
I like to offer a few different toppings, but my favorites are crunched tortilla chips, taco blend cheese, and sour cream.  I've also opted for black beans, corn, chives, olives, and onions!