Viva el taco soup!

Now that I'm almost done with my morning procrastination routine, it's time for lunch. Today I've got some super-yummy leftover taco soup, which I made a big pot of last night.

I've been meaning to share the taco soup recipe with you because it's soooooo incredibly easy, it's so delish, it's filling and it's healthy too. For those of you who haven't had taco soup, think taco salad minus the lettuce but in soup form. Kind of like chili.

It's basically a Weight Watchers recipe, though there are about two-dozen different versions of it out on the internet. This particular version is the one that helped my mom get through WW, and now it's helping me.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of lean ground beef (I like Laura's 94% fat free ground beef)
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 package of taco seasoning
• 1 package of Hidden Vallen Ranch dressing mix
• 1 can of dark red kidney beans
• 1 can of pinto beans
• 1 can of Italian flavored stewed tomatoes
• 1 can of regular Rotel
• 1 can of corn
• 1 can of green beans

Directions:
Brown the beef and drain the grease. Mix in the diced onion and the packages of taco seasoning and dressing mix. Heat until onion is tender. Pour all the contents of the canned items in a large pot (READ: DO NOT DRAIN -- POUR THE JUICE STRAIGHT IN THE POT). Mix in the meat/onion/seasoning mixture. Simmer for about an hour.

That's it! Easy as pie. It makes a huge pot of soup. One pot doled out in one-and-a-half-cup servings makes about seven meals for me, and I swear I don't get tired of it. I often eat mine with a small serving of tortilla chips, which sorta adds to the whole taco idea.

The last four ingredients you can play with. The green beans are something my mom added for extra fiber and color, and I like them. If you are completely adverse to spice, use a can of regular stewed tomatoes instead of the Rotel. If you like more spice, get Mexican corn. If you like potatoes or carrots, try a can of those.

If you're on Weight Watchers, a cup and a half of the soup is worth 3 points.