Soup

Soups make a delicious meal and they are budget friendly.

I make taco soup with stuff in the pantry. I buy the canned goods when they are on deep sale, like 89 cents a can.

I make my taco soup a bit differently than most recipes I've seen. I don't like the texture of ground beef in soup. So I substitute sausage. And that's a great thing to do...substitute! Don't be afraid to mess with recipes, leaving out things, changing things around, so that the recipe works for you and your family.

So, here's my recipe for taco soup:

2 sausages (I like chicken sausage), diced
1 can corn
1 can pinto beans
1 can pinquitos
1 can diced tomatoes (I like the kind with garlic and basil)
1/2 onion diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 packet dry ranch dressing mix
1 packet dry taco seasoning
About 2 1/2 cups water

In a pot pour in the olive oil, heat and add the onions. Let the onions wilt on low heat for about 5 minutes. In the meantime, dice up the sausages. Add the sausages, then add all the other ingredients. Just dump the cans into the pot, no need to drain or rinse. Bring to a boil, stir and let simmer for 35-45 minutes. That's it.


I garnish mine with some chopped cilantro and some crushed tortilla chips. I'll add a side of bread and a piece of fruit and that's dinner!

Cost:

1/2 package chicken sausage $2.00 (on sale for 4.99 with a $1 coupon)
1 can each: corn, pintos, pinquitos, tomatoes $3.60
Taco mix envelope: 89 cents on sale
Dry ranch dressing $1.10

Total for the soup: under $8.00

This easily feeds our family dinner with left overs, which I gladly eat as lunch one or two times more.