Crock Pot Wednesday

It's that time of week again.  Crock pot day.  I got this recipe from a friend a few years ago and adapted it to our tastes.

Taco Soup:
- Ground beef or turkey (cooked)
- Diced bell pepper (red, green, or both)
- Diced/Seeded Jalapeno (or a TB of jarred diced jalapeno)
- Drained can of corn
- Drained can of black olives (roughly chopped a bit)
- Drained and rinsed can of beans (I usually use black, but friend suggests any bean)
- Can of crushed Tomatoes (sometimes I use a can of diced tomatos)
- 1 pkg of taco seasoning
- About 32 oz chicken stock

Toss everything into the crock pot and stir.  I have a 6 qt crock pot so this is usually fine.  Sometimes, I'll throw in an extra can of tomatoes.  It's very easy since pretty much everything is in cans that I normally have in my pantry anyway.

I normally cook on low all day (about 7-8 hours).  When I get home if I want it thicker, I just put some in a small put and make a corn starch slurry to thicken that small pot up and then dump that back into the whole crock pot.  If you don't know how to make a corn starch slurry don't worry - just read the box it'll tell you how :)

I usually like it very thick so I make it much thicker when I get home.  Sometimes, I'll take a can of creamed corn and thicken that and add it back into the pot.  You could also probably use an imersion blender a bit to make it thicker.  Serve with some shredded cheese and sour cream.  If it's really thick, grab some chips too.