Amazing & Easy Taco Soup

I forget sometimes how much I love soup...

It's a cheap, healthy, quick meal that always provides leftovers.

My soup of choice this week was:

via

Taco Soup
I used grass fed beef and all organic beans for this soup and the
total cost for this meal was $12 for 10 servings

Ingredients:

3 cans of beans (I used kidney, black, and pinto)

1 can stewed tomatoes

1 can corn kernels

1 can of water

1 small can diced green chilies

1/2 diced onion

1 lb. ground beef  (I used 1/2 lb and it was plenty!!!)

1 pkg reduced sodium taco seasoning

1 pkg ranch dressing mix 

Directions:

1. Brown the ground beef and the diced onions in a large soup pot over medium high heat.

2. Open all 3 cans of beans and drain the liquid.  Rinse beans in a colander with water. Add beans to pot.
 ***Canned beans are LOADED with sodium, mostly contained in the liquid.  By draining and rinsing canned beans you DRASTICALLY lower the sodium content of your meal.


3. Add corn, water, and diced green chilies to the pot.  Before adding the stewed tomatoes, I drain the liquid in the pot and then dump the tomatoes on a large cutting board and dice them very small, then add them to the pot. I hate chunky tomatoes in my soup :)

4. Add taco and ranch seasoning packets and stir to combine.  Add extra water to create your desired soup consistency.

5. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to lowest setting and let simmer for 20 minutes.

6. Enjoy with shredded sharp cheddar cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips!

Homemade Sloppy Joes

Do you ever feel like certain people come into your life for a reason? Well I sure DO! My visiting teacher and long lost friend from Elementary School, Wendi, has been such an amazing help to me lately! I was so happy to see she was in our ward because she was the only person I knew. We still didn't see eachother or talk to eachother until one day she told me she was my visiting teacher! So she came over and we started talking about food and health and who knew we were both CRAZY HEALTH PEOPLE! (She much crazier than I )

She is an all star and is GLUTEN FREE and mostly DAIRY FREE because of her sons food allergies.

She has given me so much information and great resources to finding the healthiest food and recipes out there.

My most favorite resource would have to be http://www.desertrootsfarm.com/

This website sells so many wonderful things.. including 100% grass fed beef that they get from THIS FARM.

click on the link to read all about the "integrity" of their meat. My favorite part is:

"Fat is minimal and Omega 3 levels are many times higher than Salmon (We test our beef to prove it!)"

WOO HOO I don't have to eat salmon!

The ground beef is $6.00 a lb and I purchased 5 lbs to try out and have used 2 lbs so far to make hamburgers, spaghetti sauce, and tonight... Sloppy Joes. And can I just tell you that this meat tastes SO AMAZING. So much different than regular ground beef I have bought before.

Now for the recipe: Homemade Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes to me have always been considered unhealthy because I remember them coming in a can and being slapped between to hamburger buns. But this recipe... with this ground beef... is fantastically healthy.

...Jess was so impressed by the taste...

The original recipe is from FAMILY CIRCLE MAGAZINE and is a crock pot recipe that calls for ground turkey. I adapted it to a skillet recipe with 100% grass fed beef. For the crock pot instructions.. click on the link.

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs of grass fed ground beef

1.5 Tablespoons coconut oil (or canola or olive oil)
2 carrots, peeled and FINELY chopped

1 medium-size onion, finely chopped  (I did 1/2 an onion, a whole onion seems a little much to me)

1 rib celery, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste (I used an 8 oz can of tomato sauce because its what I had!)

2 tablespoons cider vinegar (I used "Bragg"organic apple cider vinegar. Health benefits!)

2 tablespoons light-brown sugar (I used 1 Tablespoon and it was still fantastic, imagine that)

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

3/4 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

** hamburger buns

Directions

1. In a medium sized skillet, heat coconut oil and add chopped carrots, onions, and celery. Saute for 5-7 minutes or until softened. In the meantime, brown the ground beef in a seperate skillet. Once veggies have softened, add minced garlic and saute for 30 seconds, then add cooked ground beef to veggies mixture. Add tomato paste (or sauce), vinegar, brown sugar, worcestershire sauce, paprika, dry mustard and salt and stir until fully combined. Cover and let simmer for 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally if you would like.

Put on top of hamburger buns with shredded cabbage. Or be REALLY adventurous and make a cabbage WRAP! I know I will do that next time!