A New Year...

Wait, what just happened? Christmas is over? New Years, too? The obligatory diet has begun?  We FINALLY got some snow and it is just now "beginning to look a lot like Christmas!"

I am not sure when this day began.  We left Ft. Smith, Arkansas and my parents and sister at 7:45 EST and arrived to our cold, dirty, but cozy home around 7:35 EST this morning...yes, 12 hours of driving through the night and listening to our little Eli try and sleep in his car seat.  He was good, all in all, but once home I became a zombie and Zack sent me to bed for as much sleep as I could handle.  You see, I don't drink coffee, sodas or pretty much anything with caffeine very often so when I do, I'm like a hamster on speed and can run on my little wheel long enough to power NYC for one night!  Needless to say, an energy drink, cup of coffee mixed with hot-cocoa (world's best recipe! If you really want it, I may share!), Dr. Pepper, some Hello Dolly's (thanks Cindy!), Food-gasm brownie, carmel popcorn and some chewing gum, I had all I could handle on sugar and was wired until I pulled our sled into the snow-covered  drive. 

After a day of rest, snow, play with Eli, consoling Eli as he gets 2 more teeth, and cleaning, a one-pot meal was all I could handle.  We don't have much in the house after being gone for the better part of 2 weeks so cans and frozen stuff came to the rescue! As always, it's an adlib so just do the same if you want to make it!

Taco-Chili Soup

1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion chopped
1 package HOT chili seasoning ( I used McCormick)
1 package Ranch dressing mix
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
1 can Ranch style beans
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1-2 cups corn (depending on your taste)
1 can Rotel (any flavor works, mine was cilantro and lime)
about a tsp of chili powder
about a cup of spicey V8 Juice

• Brown your meat over medium heat along with your onion and crumble as you go. I don't like big chunks of meat so I pretty much crumble the entire time it cooks.
• Drain your fat from the meat and then throw it back in the pot.
• I stir in the packages of seasoning now...Ranch and Chili so the meat takes on more of the flavor.  After you have the meat coated, open the cans and dump them in (don't forget to drain and rinse the black beans though!).  

 I love a recipe that calls for a TOWER of cans. :)

• Once all the liquids are in, add your chili powder to taste. We like it spicey so I add between a teaspoon and tablespoon. 
• Let it start to bubble a little and then reduce the heat and let it simmer for at least 15-30 min.
• I put tortilla chips and cheese in the bottom of the bowl and spoon the soup over top then add more cheese and don't forget your dollop of Daisy or in my case, Kroger brand sour cream!

Enjoy :)