Family pleasing Tex-Mex style taco soup recipe with beans, beef or turkey

This Tex-Mex style taco soup recipe with baked tortilla strips can be made with ground beef, ground turkey, or leftover turkey as well as a vegetarian style bean soup recipe without any meat. The recipe is intended to be used with foods from Seattle farmers market preserved at home, but commercially prepared ingredients can be substituted.

Taco Soup Recipe
Makes 6-8 servings, recipe may be doubled

3 tablespoons oil

1 pound lean ground beef, ground turkey or 2 cups leftover roast turkey meat, diced

1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup fresh or 1/3 cup dried onion, reconstituted)

1-2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

1 teaspoon ground cumin seed

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1 teaspoon ground dried hot chilies, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Optional: 1-3 tablespoons ground dried corn or wheat flour

1/2 cup pinto beans, soaked and cooked (about 1 ½ cups after soaking and cooking until tender), or one 14-16 ounce can, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup black beans, soaked and cooked (about 1 ½ cups after soaking and cooking until tender), or one 14-16 ounce can, drained and rinsed

2 cups frozen corn or one 10-ounce package or one 14-16 ounce can, drained

2 cups (1 pint) canned, diced tomatoes or one 14-16 ounce can

1/4 cup diced pickled jalapenos or one 4-5 ounce can diced green chiles

3 cups water

Garnishes

• Toasted tortilla strips (cut 6-8 corn or flour tortillas in half and then in 1/4-inch strips and bake at 350°F until crisp, about 5-8 minutes.
• Sour cream or thick yogurt (Greek yogurt, Quark or yogurt cheese)
• Grated or crumbled cheese (queso blanco, cheddar, gouda, or feta)
• Thinly sliced green onions or chopped sweet onions
• Bottled hot chili sauce

1. In a large heavy pot, heat the oil over medium high. Add the ground beef or turkey and cook until it turns opaque, 5-8 minutes. While the meat cooks, stir frequently to break it up into small pieces. For vegetarian soup, heat the oil and proceed immediately to the next step.
2. Add the onion, garlic, parsley, cumin, salt, chili, oregano and optional ground corn or wheat flour. Stir and cook onions and seasonings for 5 minutes.
3. Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, jalapenos and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer gently for 40 minutes. Taste and correct seasoning as desired with salt and crushed red chilies.
4. Serve garnishes on the side, allowing each person to add to taste.