Taco Pie (Keto)

This is not my recipe, but it is worth reposting.  This Taco Pie is delicious and easy!  My whole family enjoyed it, and I've already made it 3 times.  It's super easy.  On the website, it says 1 cup heavy cream, but she has a video and in the comments below she says to use 1/2 cup heavy cream.  When I made this for my entire family, I doubled it and put it in a 9x13 pan and have to bake it for 45 minutes.

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey or beef (I used turkey)

3 Tbsp taco seasoning (I use my homemade)

6 large eggs

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 cup Mexican blend cheese (or you can use cheddar or another blend if you want)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Brown ground meat and drain.  Mix in taco seasoning and spread evenly but loosely in the bottom of a sprayed pie plate.  Mix together eggs, cream, garlic, salt, and pepper and pour over top of meat.  Sprinkle cheese evenly over egg and meat mixture.  Bake 30-35 minutes until golden and puffed.  Let sit for about 5 minutes before serving.  Top with sour cream, salsa, olives, avocado, or whatever toppings you would like.

Taco Salad (Keto)

We eat taco salad almost every Tuesday in my house.  It's a very simple recipe, but we love it around here.  We cut up all the toppings and everyone can personalize their bowl.  Before I went Keto, I ate it over corn chips (like Fritos), and my kids still eat it this way.  I make 3-4 pounds of meat for my family of 6.  This recipe includes my homemade taco seasoning.  I make large amounts and use 3 Tbsp per pound of meat.

Ingredients
1 lb ground turkey (or beef)
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup water

Optional toppings:
lettuce
cheese
salsa
tomatoes
avocado
sour cream
guacamole
cucumber
black olives
corn chips (if you're not doing low-carb or keto)

Directions
Brown ground meat, drain, and return to pan.  Add all the seasonings and the water and bring to a boil but then reduce and simmer for 5 minutes.  Top with whatever taco toppings you choose.

Protein Noodle Lasagna (Keto)

So I know this isn't the prettiest picture, but it's so delicious!  I have brought it to church potluck's and received many compliments.  It's Maria Emmerich's Protein Noodle Lasagna.  I made a few changes but just personal preferences.

Ingredients
1 lb ground sausage
3/4-1 lb ground turkey or beef
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
24oz jar low sugar marinara
16oz full fat cottage cheese (or Ricotta)
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 lb shredded mozzarella
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
16oz thinly sliced deli chicken breast lunch meat (I like to get nitrate-free)

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Cook sausage, ground meat, onion, and garlic until browned.  Drain and stir in marinara sauce.  In a bowl, combine cottage cheese, egg, and salt.  Spread meat sauce in bottom of 9x13 pan.  Arrange chicken slices over sauce.  Spread with cottage cheese mixture and top with mozzarella and Parmesan.  Repeat layers until everything is used up.  Cover with foil.  Bake 25 minutes, remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes.  Cool 15 minutes before serving.

Crockpot Keto Taco Soup

If you look up Keto Taco Soup online, you will find this recipe in multiple places.  I tweeked this to make it my own.  You can do this in the Instant Pot or in the Crock Pot.  If you really don't like spicy, you can use 1 can of Rotel and 1 can of regular diced tomatoes.  You can also serve with pasta if you don't care about carbs.

Ingredients

2 pounds ground sausage

2 8oz packages of cream cheese

2 10oz cans diced tomatoes and green chilies (like Rotel)

2 Tbsp taco seasoning

4 cups beef broth

8oz bag fresh spinach

Directions

Brown ground sausage, drain and add to crockpot.  Add rest of ingredients to crockpot.  Cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours.  

If you want to use your Instant Pot instead, cook on high pressure for 20 minutes and allow to release naturally. 

Serve with cheese and sour cream.

Asian Lettuce Wraps (Keto)

So I usually do 3x-4x this recipe for my family of 6.  It also goes well over rice or mixed with rice if you want to stretch it and aren't concerned about carbs.  If you want to add a little sweetness to it, I use one packet of Truvia when I triple to quadruple the recipe.

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey

1/2 yellow onion, diced 

8 oz canned water chestnuts, drained and finely diced

2 green onions, chopped (optional)

2-3 garlic cloves

3-4 Tbsp soy sauce or liquid aminos

1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar (or white vinegar)

1 tsp dried ginger

1 tsp sriracha

1 Tbsp natural peanut butter 

1 tsp sugar (optional)

1 tsp sesame oil

salt & pepper to taste

butter or hydro lettuce (for wraps)

Directions

Brown ground turkey and onions together.  Drain and return to pan.  Add water chestnuts, garlic, and green onions to pan and saute while you make sauce.  Whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, sriracha, peanut butter, sugar, sesame oil, and salt/pepper.  Pour over top of meat mixture and combine thoroughly.  Serve inside lettuce.

Keto Chili

I made this yummy low carb/Keto chili in my Instant Pot.  You could also make this in your crockpot or on the stove top if you prefer.

Ingredients
2 lbs ground turkey
2 lbs ground sausage
1 yellow onion, diced
3 multi color peppers, cut up bite size pieces
2 cans Rotel
1 large can crushed tomatoes
4 cups beef broth
2 tsp garlic powder
1/8 cup cumin
1 Tbsp salt
1/4 cup chili powder
8oz bag fresh spinach, roughly chopped

Directions
Brown the ground turkey and sausage with the onion until no longer pink.  Drain and add to your Instant Pot or crockpot.  Add all your other ingredients and put your Instant Pot on high pressure for 30 minutes and allow to release naturally.  If you cook in the crockpot, set on high for 4 hours or low 8 hours.  Serve with cheese and sour cream if you like.

Goulash

My family loves this goulash.  I made it quite often and it's super easy and inexpensive to make.

Ingredients
2 lbs ground turkey or beef
2 cans corn, drained
30-32oz tomato sauce
32oz diced tomatoes
3 tsp garlic, minced
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 Tbsp oregano
1 Tbsp parsley
1 Tbsp seasoned salt
1/2 Tbsp salt (or to taste)
3 Tbsp soy sauce
3 cups water
16oz rotini, penne, or medium size pasta (use brown rice noodles for gluten free)
Directions
Brown ground meat, drain, return to pan.  Add everything else except the pasta.  Bring to a boil, add pasta, and cook on low-medium until pasta is fully cooked (about 20 min). Serve with shredded cheese and sour cream if desired.

OR crockpot version:
Brown ground meat, drain, and add to crockpot.  Add everything else except the pasta. Turn on high 4-6 hours or low 8 hours.  Stir in pasta, turn crockpot on high, and cook last 20-30 minutes until pasta is tender.

Crockpot Southwest Chili

This is very similar to my Santa Fe Soup as well as some of my other recipes, but my friend Becky made this for us one night for dinner and I had to have the recipe.  It was delicious! 

Ingredients
2 lbs ground meat (I used turkey)
1 can black beans, undrained
1 can kidney beans, undrained
1 can pinto beans, undrained
2 cans petite diced tomatoes
2 cans diced tomatoes w/ chillies
2 cans corn, undrained
2 packets dry ranch dressing
2 packets taco seasoning
1 can water (optional, I didn't add this)

Crumble up meat and add to crockpot and then add all ingredients to crockpot and stir well. Cook in crockpot on high heat 4-6 hours or low heat 8-10  hours.  Serve as is or top with sour cream and cheddar cheese.

Weight Watcher Points:  If you use ground turkey or lean ground beef, only 3 points per cup!

W's chili

I love Wendy's chili, so I decided to go online and see if I could find a copycat recipe.  Well, I found this one, but I had to modify it a little with what I had on hand.  I think it is now my favorite chili that I have made.  I wouldn't say it was terribly like Wendy's chili, but I did modify it, so you can go to the link above if you want, and I hope to next time try it closer to the original recipe to see if it's more like Wendy's.  Yum!  I used hot Italian sausage because that's what I had on hand, but it was a little too spicy for my kids, even with sour cream and cheese on top of theirs.  You can do this in the crockpot as well if you like, low 4-6 hours or high 8-10.  I called this W's chili since I wouldn't call it a Wendy's copycat since I changed it so much.

Ingredients
1 lb spicy Italian sausage (I used hot but would use mild next time for my kids or just use another pound of ground turkey or beef)
1 lb ground turkey or beef (I used turkey)
29oz tomato sauce
29oz light kidney beans, undrained
29oz pinto beans, undrained
1 medium onion, diced
1 can petite diced tomatoes
2 tsp cumin powder
3 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp black powder
2 tsp salt

Directions
Brown meats, breaking apart, and drain off fat.  In a large pot combine all ingredients together.  Simmer over low heat 2-3 hours, stirring occassionally.

Crockpot: Brown meat, drain, add to crockpot.  Combine rest of ingredients.  Stir and cook on high for 4-6 hours or low 8-10 hours. 

Makeover: So I made this again and used all ground turkey and did add a 7oz can diced green chilies.  It was super yummy!

Serve over pasta, with sour cream, cheese, tortilla chips, or cornbread.

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I got this recipe off of skinnytaste, a weight watcher friendly blog that I enjoy.  I'm looking through the recipe now and realizing I didn't even make the spicy hoisin sauce to go with it.  Next time I want to try that since I forgot!  These turned out really yummy.  My kids didn't care for them on lettuce, so they instead ate them on soft taco shells.  I changed a few things, so you can click on the link above if you want to see the original recipe. I doubled this recipe for my family of 6, so cut it in half if only serving like 2 or 3 people.

Ingredients
1 lb ground chicken breast
1 can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
2 Tbsp soy sauce (La Choy brand is gluten free), divided
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
lettuce leaves to serve in, iceburg or I used romaine for more nutritional value

Directions
Heat 2 tsp sesame oil in large skillet on med-high heat and brown chicken and garlic.  Combine soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, and sugar in a bowl.  Add water chestnuts, green onions, and sauce to chicken and blend well and heat through about 1-2 minutes.  Spoon into lettuce leaves and enjoy!

I'm not positive on the Weight Watcher Points since I changed it up a bit, but I think it would be comprable.  She says each lettuce wrap with 1/4 cup of the mixture is only 2 points or 3 points plus.

Gluten Free Spinach Lasagna

I made this for my family recently and they all absolutely loved it!  I was so excited to make a lasagna recipe that was delicious and I could eat!  My 5 year old said it was his absolute favorite lasagna.  My 8 year old said it was his 2nd favorite (his favorite is Stouffer's).  :-)  My almost 2 year old ate almost 2 whole pieces.  My husband said he really liked it a lot, but maybe I should try it with meat next time.  ;-)  The only other thing I might change next time is that I cooked the pasta according to the package directions but took off 2 minutes when I probably should have took off 5 minutes because they came out a little too soft.  I got the idea for this lasagna from my pasta lasagna recipe.  If you want to add meat, brown 1/2 lb of ground meat with your onion.

Ingredients

1/2 large onion, finely diced

10 oz fresh spinach, chopped

12 Brown Rice Lasagna Noodles (I used 10oz Tinkyada brand)

26oz jar Spaghetti sauce (watch for allergens, I used Ragu traditional)

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, optional

1/2 tsp basil

2 cups cottage cheese, I used 2%

1/4 Parmesan cheese

1 egg (leave out for egg free)

8oz  part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Sautee onion until soft.  Add spaghetti sauce, spinach, garlic powder, oregano, salt, sugar, red pepper flakes, and basil.  Simmer on low while you prepare everything else.  Boil you pasta according to package directions in salted water, minus 5 minutes, drain, and put into cold water.  In a medium bowl, combine eggs, cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, and half the mozzarella cheese.  In a sprayed 9x13 pan, layer 3 lasagna noodles, 1/4 of the sauce, and 1/4 of the cottage cheese mixture.  Repeat layers 3 more times.  Top with remaining mozzarella cheese.  Bake in preheated oven for 35-45 minutes.  Let cool 10 minutes before serving.



Healthy Meatloaf

I have been trying to revamp my diet lately.  I am trying to eliminate artificial preservatives, hydrogenized oils, and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).  I'm also trying to limit my white flour and white pasta intake as well.  I love my meatloaf recipe and so does the rest of my family, but it has Ritz crackers in it which have all 3 of the things I'm trying eliminate.  So, I decided to replace the crackers with rolled oats to make a healthier version of my meatloaf.  I liked the way these turned out, and my husband agreed too.  I doubled the recipe and made them into muffins.  They fell apart more than my regular meatloaf so I might try a little less milk next time.

Ingredients
1 lb ground turkey
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 yellow onion, diced (or 1 Tbsp dried minced onion)
1 egg
1/4 cup or less milk, 1% or fat free (use different milk or even water for dairy-free)
1/4 cup ketchup (I choose ones with no HFCS)
1 Tbsp worcester sauce
1 cup rolled oats

Directions
Combine all ingredients well and divide evenly into large muffin tins (makes about 12 muffin loaves).  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. 

Hide your veggies: put a large handful of finely chopped spinach (I did mine in my food processor) in your meatloaf mix. I can't even tell the difference.

Egg-free: use one of my egg substitutions to the right if you need egg free. I prefer flax seed as my choice.

Taco Casserole

This is like a healthy version of nachos.  It is yummy and doesn't taste like you are eating something healthy at all.  I found this recipe on healthy delicious.

Ingredients
24 tortilla chips, plus more for serving if you desire
1 Tbs chili oil (or olive oil and red pepper flakes) - I just used olive oil and a pinch of red pepper flakes)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground chicken
2 tbs taco seasoning (I used half my recipe for my homemade taco seasoning)
1 can black beans, drained
1 cup salsa
1 cup reduced fat cheese (I used Mexican blend)
Optional: other toppings such as olives or jalepenos

Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Heat oil in a large skillet.  Add onion and garlic and sautee until soft.  Add meat and taco seasoning.  Cook, breaking up meat with a spatula, for about 5 minutes.  Add beans and salsa.  Mix well and continue to cook until salsa thickens.  Line the bottom of a large baking dish with tortilla chips, pressing down to break them up lightly into bite-sized pieces.  Spread the meat and bean mixture over the chips and top with cheese.  Add any other toppings you want cooked on top.  Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is melty and gooey.  Enjoy!

Pasta Lasagna

So I made this for lunch today and it was very yummy! I found the original recipe online, but I changed it up with adding some spices and using some healthier ingredients, and I used cottage cheese instead of ricotta because I really love cottage cheese in my lasagna. I doubled the recipe not realizing it was plenty for my family without doubling it, so now I have a casserole in the freezer for later, so it worked out great! I am giving you half the recipe I made though, so it should only make one casserole and not two.

Ingredients
-1/2 large onion, finely diced
-1/2 lb lean ground turkey (use beef if you prefer or leave out for vegetarian)
-1/2 lb bow tie or penne or whatever you like pasta (I use barilla plus bow tie which was only half a 14.5oz box)
-1/2 45oz jar spaghetti sauce (I used Walmart traditional)
-1 garlic clove, minced
-1 tsp garlic powder
-1 tsp oregano
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp sugar
-1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
-1/2 tsp basil
-2 cups cottage cheese, 2% or lower fat content
-1/4 cup parmesan cheese
-1 egg (leave out for egg-free)
-8oz mozzarella, shredded (I used parm skim)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown your ground turkey, diced onion, and garlic. Add spaghetti sauce, garlic powder, oregano, salt, sugar, red pepper flakes, and basil. Simmer on low, uncovered while you prepare everything else. Boil your pasta according to package directions in salted water, drain, set aside. In a medium bowl, combine egg, cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, and half the mozzarella cheese. In a sprayed 9x13 casserole dish, layer half the pasta, half the sauce, and half the cheese mixture. Repeat. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes. Let cool some before serving.

WW points: 1/12 of the lasagna is approximately 4 points.

Light Swedish Meatballs

I got this recipe off Gina's Skinny Taste, a Weight Watcher food friendly blog. They were very yummy! I wasn't sure if my husband was going to like these, but he did. My kids weren't crazy about them, but they liked the egg noodles I served them over. :-) Next time I want to try these with ground turkey since we like the flavor of ground turkey a lot. I will probably also double the recipe next time and my husband said he wanted more sauce. He likes a lot of sauce on his pasta. I did add some cornstarch and water towards the end because it didn't look thick enough to me, but I don't think I would do that again because it got almost too thick after cooling some.

Ingredients
1 tsp olive oil (I just sprayed my pan instead)
1 small onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 celery stalk, minced
1/4 cup minced parsley (plus some to put on top if you like)
1 lb 93% lean beef
1 egg (or use one of my egg-free options to the right)
1/4 cup breadcrumbs (I used Italian)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp allspice
2 cups beef broth (I just used a can)
2oz light cream cheese

Directions
In a large deep saute pan, heat oil on medium heat, add onions and garlic; saute until onions are translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add celery and parsley and cook until soft, about 3-4 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes. In a large bowl combine beef, egg, onion mixture, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, and allspice. Mix well and form meatballs with your hands 1/8 cup each. Add beef stock to pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and slowly drop meatballs into the broth. Cover and cook about 20 minutes. Remove the meatballs with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add to blender with cream cheese and pulse until smooth. Return to pan and simmer a few minutes to thicken, then pour over meatballs. Garnish with parsley and serve over noodles or with toothpicks for an appetizer.

Makes 22 meatballs, 4 servings, 5 meatballs each.

WW points: she says 4 points, but I came up with 5 points, 1 per meatball. Go to her website, link above, if you want to know calories and other nutrition information.

Taco Lasagna

When I was going through my recipes and labeling them as budget friendly meals (under $10), I realized my yummy Mexican Lasagna was not under $10 to make. So, I decided to change a few things and make it "budget friendly," and this is what I came up with. It was so yummy! This is also a great prepare ahead of time or freezer meal.

Ingredients
-9 soft taco size flour tortillas (use 12 corn for gluten/wheat free)
-1 lb ground turkey or beef
-1 small onion, chopped
-2 cups corn (frozen or 1 can)
-1 packet of taco seasoning or my homemade taco seasoning-1 can refried beans (I use fat free for heart healthy)
-1 can tomatoes (I like petite diced and/or I put them in the blender for a few seconds for my kids' sake)
-2 cups Mexican blend cheese (I use reduced fat for heart healthy)

Directions
Brown your ground meat in a large skillet with onion, drain, and return to pan. Add corn, tomatoes, and taco seasoning and bring to a boil, and then let simmer 5-10 minutes. Spray 9x13 casserole dish. Spread 1/4 of the meat mixture in the bottom of your pan. Top with 3 tortillas (I like to put split my 3rd tortilla and place each straight side against the short sides of the pan, check out the pictures on my Mexican lasagna page if you aren't sure what I mean). Spread half of the refried beans over the tortillas. Top with 1/4 of the meat mixture and 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat this layer. Add 3 more tortillas, the rest of the meat mixture and remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Serve with sour cream if desired.

Laura's Chili

So, one of my amazing friends, Laura, has this blog called Health for the Heart, and she had posted this really yummy sounding chili. Well, I can now say that it not only sounds yummy, but it tastes really yummy too! Thank you so much for this chili recipe, Laura! My whole family ate it and enjoyed it! I will be making it again. Another one of my favorite recipes that Laura makes that I have posted is Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo Bake.

Ingredients
1 lb ground sirloin, ground buffalo, or ground turkey
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/2 to 3/4 green bell pepper, chopped (I used a whole, small one)
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 can petite diced tomatoes
2 cans spicy chili beans
1 package taco seasoning (she suggests low sodium) or my homemade taco seasoning
1 tbsp hot sauce (optional) (I decided to use this after I took a picture of the ingredients, I used the taco bell hot sauce, and the chili was not too spicy for any of my kids)
1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional) (I chose to leave this out b/c my kids probably wouldn't eat it that spicy, but you could serve it on the side to sprinkle on top)Directions
1. Saute onion, bell pepper, and garlic until softened. Add meat and brown.
2. Add rest of ingredients, turn down heat, and simmer 30 minutes or more.
3. Serve over pasta (my choice), brown rice, or corn chips, or top with cheese (all optional)

Spicy Szechuan Noodles

I got this recipe off of the Betty Crocker website and modified it over the years.  I've been craving Asian food and searching for good recipes, and this is a definite keeper. You could use different vegetables if you prefer and add more or less red pepper flakes depending on your taste in heat. You could also try different meats in this. It called for lean ground pork, but we are big chicken people, so I went with that, and I think you really could totally leave the chicken out, use vegetable broth, and maybe add a little more pasta if you prefer a vegetarian dish. I also couldn't find the rice stick noodles, so I just bought regular linguine. I'm not certain how much it would change the dish, but I loved it just the way I made it. It is a bit on the spicy side, so adjust to your tastes.

Ingredients
Sauce
- 1 1/4 cups chicken broth 
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- 5 Tbsp soy sauce (use gluten free if needed)
- 1 Tbsp white vinegar

Stir-fry
- 8 oz linguine (use gluten free if neeed)
- 1 Tbsp coconut or olive oil
- 1/2 pound chicken breasts, chopped
- 3 medium garlic cloves, chopped
- 2-3 carrots, diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
- 3 medium green onions, cut lengthwise into 1" pieces

-1 can sliced water chestnuts (optional)
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (adjust to your taste, put in more and not at all based on how much heat you prefer)
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- fresh cilantro, chopped (optional, I'm not usually a big cilantro person, but I liked it in this, but cilantro will add some more heat, so be aware of this).Directions
1. Combine all the sauce ingredients in a 2 cup glass measure cup and whisk together, set aside.
2. Boil your linguine according to the package directions, drain.
3. Meanwhile, heat peanut/vegetable/canola oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add chicken and garlic and cook chicken through. If you use pork, break up into small pieces with wooden spoon while cooking. Add carrots, bell pepper, green onions, water chestnuts, and pepper flakes and cook about 3-5 minutes or until vegetables start to get tender.
4. Mix sauce ingredients to recombine and pour into skillet. Stir and heat to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, let simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in sesame oil.
5. Turn off heat, add noodles and combine well. I let mine sit for about 10 minutes to allow the sauce to absorb into the noodles. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro before serving.

Taco Junk

This is very similar to taco mac, but it is made without pasta. It's really good by itself, served with cornbread, served with corn chips, served in a tortilla or with cheese and sour cream, or I've even heard of it served over a hot dog on a bun. You can use different beans too, like black beans, if you like, but my family prefers pintos. No matter what, we really enjoy it. :-)

Ingredients
1 lb ground turkey or beef
1 can corn, drained
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 packet of ranch dressing mix (leave out if you can't have allergens in it)Directions
Brown meat, drain, and return to pan. Add rest of ingredients, bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Crockpot: Brown meat, drain, and add to crockpot.  Add all ingredients to crockpot.  Stir, cover, and cook on high 4-6 hours or high 8-10.

The Duggars' Taco Soup

I actually got this recipe out of The Duggar's: 20 and Counting book. It's very similar to some of my other taco soup recipes, but this one adds hominy instead of corn along with some other small adjustments. It was a winner in our house. I particularly liked the texture of the hominy, but my "boys" weren't as fond of it. If you don't like hominy, just substitute corn. The recipe in the book calls for you to triple the recipe (considering, they have 18 children :-)). Even doing 1/3 of the recipe, we had plenty of leftovers. I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients
1 lb ground turkey (leave out for vegetarian option)
4oz can green chilies, chopped
1.25oz packet of taco seasoning (or try my homemade taco seasoning)
1 package dry ranch dressing mix (leave out for dairy-free)
15.5oz can hominy
3 - 14.5oz cans diced tomatoes, undrained
15oz can kidney beans, undrained
2 - 15oz cans pinto beans, undrained
grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips for serving (I didn't do this for dieting's sake, but I'm sure it would be delicious!)Directions
Brown the ground turkey, season as you like (salt, pepper, onion). Stir in the chilies, seasoning mix, ranch dressing mix, hominy, tomatoes, beans, and about 1 1/2 cups of water (I found it didn't really need this with all the other added liquid, so this is optional). Bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.
To serve, put crushed tortilla chips in bottom of bowl. Add soup, then top with grated cheddar cheese and sour cream. Your own tacos in a bowl!

Crockpot version: Brown your meat, add to the crockpot. Stir in the chilies, seasoning mix, ranch dressing mix, hominy, tomatoes, beans, and about 1 1/2 cups of water. Cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8-10.

Tip: I plan to take the leftovers and bring them to a boil, add 1 cup of macaroni and 1 cup of water (I did add the extra water originally or else I might need more) and cook until the macaroni is done. This gives it a slight variation, similar to my taco mac recipe, and it makes the leftovers go further.

If you like this, try my other taco soup type recipes:
Santa Fe Soup
Original Taco Soup Recipe
Taco Mac