Taco Soup

I'm not sure what your weather has been like, but it is still pretty chilly here. So I'm still making a lot of soup--I love it! I'm sure you all have a taco soup recipe and they're pretty much all the same, but just in case you've never tried it, here goes one. I like my food spicy, so I added cilantro, garlic, and some salsa verde to my soup. You can top with sour cream, cheese, and tortilla chips if desired. Also, as in all recipes ground turkey can be substituted without affecting the flavor too much for a lighter alternative.

INGREDIENTS
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 (16 ounce) can black beans, with liquid
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans with liquid
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, with liquid
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
3-4 cups water
2 (14.5 ounce) cans peeled and diced tomatoes
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chile peppers (opt.)
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix

DIRECTIONS

In a medium skillet, cook the ground beef until browned over medium heat. Drain, and set aside.

Place the ground beef, onion, chili beans, kidney beans, corn, tomato sauce, water, diced tomatoes, green chile peppers and taco seasoning mix in a slow cooker or in a pan on the stove if short on time.

Mix to blend, and cook on Low setting for 8 hours or until flavors are blended and soup is warm.