Beef Taco Soup

Beef Taco Soup is one of our favorite spring dishes from the slow cooker. Not too heavy; not too light. Just enough to keep the spring chill at bay, but not enough to overheat. This is similar to the black bean salsa soup, but there are some differences. And this version is more of a main meal soup while the black bean salsa is more of a side soup.

We like to eat this with corn bread or corn chips.

Ingredients:
1-2 pounds of lean ground beef (thawed)
1 can or bag of corn
2 cups chopped onions
1 bag of pinto beans or black beans
1 can of diced chili tomatoes (or regular)
2 cans of tomato sauce
2 packages of taco seasoning.
1-2 avacados (optional)
Sour cream (optional)
Salsa (optional)
Shredded cheese (optional)

Mix the ground beef, vegetables (except avocado), tomato sauce and seasoning in the slow cooker. Top off the crockpot with water. Cook in crock pot until beans are tender and the meat is done, about 4 hours on high and 6-8 hours on low.

Serve over corn bread or corn chips. Top with cheese, sour cream and avocado slices.

Slow Cooker Spaghetti

I’d always considered spaghetti a meal that was easy to throw together, and not worth the time it would take to cook. But then I got to thinking that maybe I could make it more like a gooey goulash. Turns out, I could. Here’s how I did it:

Ingredients:

1/2 package of angel hair pasta

Two cans of spaghetti sauce. I typically use Hunt’s tomato and basil flavor.

One can of Italian-style diced tomatoes
One can if Italian zuchini (Del Monte is the only brand I've been able to find)

One small can of mushrooms.

1 pound of ground beef, Italian sausage or pre-packaged meatballs.

½ pound of grated cheese

Cook the spaghetti on the stove in boiling water until it’s soft, but not mushy. Mix well the other ingredients in the slow cooker and allow to simmer while the spaghetti softens. After the spaghetti is soft, add it to slow cooker and stir. Add grated cheese to make it gooey.

It doesn't take long to cook. If you're in a hurry, set your crock pot on high, and the meal will be finished in about 90 minutes, depending of course on your crock pot's high setting. If you have all day, make sure the setting is low.

I discovered a variation on this recipe takes remarkably like Chef Boyardee canned spaghetti.

To the slow cooker add ½ a package of uncooked spaghetti, 2 cans of spaghetti sauce and prepackaged meatballs. Don’t add any extra water. Cook on low for about 8 hours. When finished, you’ve got homemade canned spaghetti.