Thursday, January 31, 2008

Chilly Recipe


Its a pretty chilly day here in the good old Midwest and I thought I'd share a yummy recipe that'd be good for a day like today! And I made this once when Robotface and Sniz's family came over and was complimented on it. So if they liked it then it must be good enough to share with you all.
My family has been making this dish for years and we always called it Taco Soup. My husband's family has made something similar and called it Chili Pie. So.... nearly every time I make it we have the inevitable discussion about what its "true" name is. I say it has the elements of a taco (meat, cheese, corn tortilla, etc) but in soup form. But Isaac insists that its like a chili pie because the chips serve as the "crust". Its ridiculous that after five years we haven't come to any sort of middle ground, a new name or something.... we continue to have the same mock argument over and over. We're funny like that. Not really funny ha ha, more funny weird. Anyway, it is a really easy recipe and very adaptable to whatever is in your pantry (mostly).

TACO SOUP/CHILI PIE RECIPE
1lb-1 1/2 lbs ground beef/ground turkey/etc
*optional - diced onions/peppers/squash - those should be put it shortly before the meat is done
2-3 cans beans - black, pinto, kidney, whatever - drained
1-2 cans or 1 small bag frozen corn - drained
1 large can red enchilada sauce
OR 1 small can enchilada sauce and 1 can tomato sauce
OR 1 can tomato sauce and 1 packet of taco seasoning
*these are open to tweaking for your personal preferences, the inlaws use tomato juice and have theirs more soupy but I kind of like mine thicker.

Brown meat in large pot. Drain. Add sauces, seasonings, beans, and corn. Season to taste (salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chili seasoning, a little sugar, whatever you like). The enchilada sauce has some spice of its own so if you like it mild you might not need to add any seasonings. Cook on medium heat until bubbly then reduce or remove from heat or stick in a crock pot for later. Serve with your choice of cheese and toppings.
Suggested toppings:
Mexican cheese, cheddar, colby-jack cheese -whatever, but you must have cheese!
Fritos corn chips - tortilla chips will do but fritos don't get soggy as fast.
sour cream
salsa
jalapeƱos
guacamole
queso
diced regular or green onions
Taco Bell packets (I know, I'm a dork. I save the packets and use them in my cooking at home.)

So, there you have it. Its simple and soooo good! Hope you try it out. If you do, please let me know what you think.

*By the way, that is a photo from the Food Network website - my food usually isn't that pretty but it tastes good.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thx 4 the recipe...I love chili and make several different versions. This one sounds delish!

Leah

Big Doofus (Roger) said...

mmmmmmmmmm chili.