Taco Soup

Are you running out of money or room in your food budget? 

Do you love taco soup?

If you answered yes to one or both of those questions, I have the recipe for you! I came up with this soup on a whim because we were a few dollars over on our food budget. I didn't want to go buy anything (of course), and I wanted something more delicious and hearty than ramen or mac n cheese. By the way, I didn't even have taco seasoning. I had to make my own. You can too! It's easy! The whole recipe is easy and cheap, and it makes a lot of soup. 

Ingredients
Chicken (1-2 lbs)
2-3 c chicken broth
1 packet taco seasoning (if you don't have taco seasoning, my recipe for it is after the soup recipe)
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can corn
1 can diced tomatoes (if you are really ambitious, chop 2-3 tomatoes)
1 can tomato soup
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/4 onion, diced

1. In a stock pot (a really big pot), boil chicken in the chicken broth. After it is fully cooked, drain the broth into a separate bowl because you will use it later.
2. Dice the vegetables.
3. Shred the chicken. If you have never shredded chicken before, it's not that hard. You just use two forks and kind of peel away at the chicken until it is in little chicken strands.If you are lazy (like I tend to be), just chop the chicken into bite sized pieces. The benefit of shredding it is that less chicken goes further because it is in smaller pieces. Your choice, though.
4. Combine shredded chicken, chopped veggies, canned veggies, and soup in stock pot. Add 1 can (use the can from tomato soup) of chicken broth to the soup. Then add the taco seasoning.

That's it! Just let it simmer until the green peppers are cooked enough for your taste.
***If it's too spicy, add a tablespoon or so of milk. If you can't handle spicy, don't add the whole taco seasoning packet. Add it a little bit at a time until your taste buds love it.

Taco Seasoning
Disclaimer: If you don't like spicy, don't use as much chili powder or red pepper. I don't know what you should use. Just guess and check? I used these exact amounts, and I thought the taco seasoning was delicious!
1 T chili powder
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t onion powder
1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes (or cayenne pepper)
1/4 t oregano
1/2 t paprika
1 1/2 t cumin
1 t sea salt (or 1/2 t table salt)
1 t black pepper
Mix it together, and it's about the equivalent of one packet. However, I did not use all of the taco seasoning for this soup. Because I didn't feel like it.