Taco Soup

Hello Green Gurneys family! In the midst of our ever changing news about the COVID-19 / Coronavirus, My heart has been with you, hoping to building content that gives you good support in these tricky times.

In Ohio, our leaders have embraced the need for social distancing early on, and we are thankful for their decisions, knowing it will help flatten the curve and protect our health care system. We just finished our first week of students learning from home. At this point, most people are working from home, with the exception of our heroes like medical care professionals, emergency services workers, grocery store clerks, and delivery service workers. Can we all just take a minute to cheer them on and thank them for keeping us going?

While I do believe there is no reason to panic, good health will return to us soon, I also believe in being prepared. I cannot ignore that my autoimmunity has placed me in the at risk category. Because of this, I am heeding the advice of the CDC and limiting my trips to the grocery store and relying more on frozen and packaged items. Last week I wrote about more ways to prepare your home for social distancing and self quarantine actions if you find those useful, click this link.

This week I’d like to give you a favorite healthy recipe that is incredibly easy to make and freezes well. This recipe is also easy to deliver to relatives who need extra support right now. My taco soup is made from ingredients you can just grab from the pantry and freezer. While most soup is more of an appetizer, I make my soups to be hearty enough to fill the belly of my extremely active husband. This soup pairs perfectly with my favorite grain free tortillas chips by Siete. I like to make this recipe with pork sausage, but it’s also delicious as a vegan recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp oil 
• 1 lb ground sausage (Leave out for vegan options)
• 1 can of black beans (Use two cans for the vegan option)
• 1 can of tomatoes
• 1 12oz frozen bag of sweet peppers and onions
• 44 oz or 5 1/2 cups of chicken bone broth.
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1 dash of cayenne pepper – more if you like food spicy!
• 1 tsp salt
• Fresh Cilantro (optional)

Directions

In a large pot, pour in 1 tbsp of oil and heat to medium high. Add your favorite sausage and cook until brown. Reduce heat to low. If you want a vegan recipe, skip the sausage and move on to the veggies.

In the same pot, add your beans, tomatoes, and frozen veggies.

Pour in your chicken broth and spices.

Bring the soup to a boil and stir. Then reduce the soup to medium low and allow it to simmer for at least 30 minutes, if not an hour. The longer it cooks, the more developed the flavors will be. Truly, this soup is even better if you freeze it and warm it up later because it gives the spices more time to enhance the soup.

This recipe makes enough for 5 – 6 servings. I honestly like to double it so I have plenty to fill mason jars for the freezer.

Do you know someone who would like this clean recipe? Please share it!

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Wishing you peace and good health! We are with you in spirit!

Love,

The Gurneys