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Easy Homemade Chips Spice Up Popular Soup

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By KATHY MANWEILER McClatchy Newspapers

Published: October 3, 2007

Updated: 10/02/2007 05:55 pm

Everyone has nights when they don't want to spend much time in the kitchen cooking dinner, and it can be tempting to just take a detour through a drive-through. But you don't need to go to a restaurant to get fast food.

This taco soup makes a quick, hearty meal, and it was one of the top 10 most popular recipes on the Food Network's Web site recently.

Many cooks who tried this soup gave it rave reviews, so I wanted to see if I could make it healthier.

I cut fat and calories but kept all the flavor by making some simple changes. I use extra-lean ground beef and cut the amount of beef. I bake my own corn chips instead of using Fritos, saving 92 calories and 8.3 fat grams and adding 1 gram of fiber per serving. I leave out the olives because this soup tastes great without them, and an olive has about the same amount of fat and calories as a french fry.

Using light sour cream and reduced-fat cheese trims more fat and calories. I also drain and rinse the beans to cut down on sodium. And I add tomato sauce because I think it improves the consistency.

If you eat this instead of a Double Decker Taco from Taco Bell, you'll save 75 calories and 10 fat grams.

TACO SOUP

1 pound 96 percent lean ground beef

2 cups diced onion

2 15 1/2 -ounce cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1 15 1/2 -ounce can light red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 15 1/4 -ounce can whole-kernel corn, drained

2 14 1/2 -ounce cans diced tomatoes

1 15-ounce can tomato sauce

1 or 2 4 1/2 -ounce cans diced green chiles

1 package taco seasoning mix
1 package ranch salad dressing mix

Optional ingredients:

Light sour cream, for garnish

Grated sharp cheddar cheese made with 2 percent milk, for garnish

Chopped green onions, for garnish

Pickled jalapenos, for garnish

For corn chips:

10 6-inch corn tortillas
Cooking spray

Salt and/or chili powder and/or cumin and/or cayenne pepper for seasoning

Brown the ground beef in a large skillet. When the beef is almost browned, add the onions and cook until beef is completely browned.

Transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot. Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, tomato sauce, green chiles, taco seasoning and ranch dressing mix, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove.

When the soup is almost done, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut each tortilla into 8 wedges, put them on a baking sheet, and spray them lightly with cooking spray.

Sprinkle on salt or other seasonings to taste, then bake the tortilla wedges for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly toasted and crispy.

Serve the corn chips with the soup, and garnish each bowl of soup with a tablespoon of light sour cream, a tablespoon of cheese and green onions and jalapenos as desired.

Makes 10 1-cup servings.

Per serving (1 cup of soup with one tortilla, one tablespoon of sour cream and a tablespoon of cheese): 265 calories, 3.8 fat grams, 8 grams of fiber, 42.7 grams carbohydrates, 20.8 grams of protein, 820 mg sodium

Adapted from a Food Network recipe by Paula Deen; corn chip recipe from 'Joan Lunden's Healthy Cooking'

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