Taco Stew

This is one of those can't go wrong and everybody loves it recipes! Fast, easy,crock pot friendly and freezes great. It makes a lot, but you will want leftovers. This recipe gets passed around town from family to family so I have no idea where the recipe originated. Enjoy!

• Ready In: 1 hr 45 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 2  lbs lean ground beef, cooked and drained (chicken or no meat works too)
• 2 (15 ounce) cans pinto beans, not drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, not drained
• 2 (15 ounce) cans corn, not drained
• 1  onion, chopped
• 1 (1 1/4ounce) package  taco seasoning mix
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 3 (14 1/2ounce) cans Mexican-style stewed tomatoes, pureed in blender
• 1 (10 ounce) can Rotel tomatoes & chilies

Directions

1. Using a large stockpot, brown the ground beef with onions and garlic according to your taste.
2. Whisk together tomato sauce and taco seasoning. Add to stockpot and stir.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients to the stockpot and stir well.
4. 1-2 cups of water may be added if it's too thick for your preference. I add none.
5. Simmer on stovetop for 1 1/2 hours, allowing flavors to blend. Or dump all ingredients in a 6 qt crock pot and cook on low 6-9 hours.
6. Stir occasionally.
7. When serving, you can top with shredded cheese.
8. We love this with Fritos on top or tortilla chips on the side.
9. Also great with cornbread.
10. Freezing is easy. My favorite method is to freeze the stew in the soup bowls I will serve them inches When frozen, I pop them out and vacuum seal using my Foodsaver. To reheat, pop the frozen stew back into original bowls and microwave. A great trick for keeping the FS bag clean is to put the frozen stew into a cheap baggie and THEN put it into a Foodsaver bag and vacuum seal. All you will have to do is rinse, instead of scrub that FS bag! If you are really short on freezer space, an alternative would be to pour unfrozen stew into a freezer ziplock, let out the air and store flat in the freezer. The downside is that you'll have to either let it defrost overnight in fridge or soak in a bowl of hot water for 20 minutes before you can pour into a bowl and reheat in microwave.