Fall Food

The last month has been crazy, and this month…or the next 3…will only get crazier!

In Practical Stress Reduction, I mentioned how important meal planning was going to be for me in the upcoming months. Well. Let me tell you: “important” is an understatement!

I’m not as young as I used to be, folks! Taking classes – including Firefighter I which is a whole lot more physical than any other class I’ve ever taken – and working full-time is harder than it used to be. Meal planning has been a life-saver this past month and will likely continue to be for the next couple months.

That being said, soup is my go-to meal, especially in the fall! Without further ado or stories you don’t really care about, here is the recipe for the first soup of the season!

First Soup of the Season: Twist on Taco

Ingredients:
* 3 pounds Ground Beef, uncooked
* 1t Cumin
* Dash of Smoked Paprika
* 3 Roma tomatoes
* 8oz Cream Cheese
* 1 Poblano Pepper
* 1c Bone Broth
* 0.5 – 1c water
* 1 Red Onion
* Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Instructions
1) Brown the ground beef
2) Slightly drain the ground beef and stir in the spices
3) Dice the onion, the poblano pepper, and the tomatoes**
4) Put the beef and the diced produce into a crockpot with the bone broth and water. Turn on High for an hour.
5) Stir in cream cheese and a handful of cheddar cheese. Leave the crockpot on High.

That’s it. I left the soup in the crockpot on high for about another hour until the cheese – cheddar and cream – was all melted. I turned it on “Warm” after that because I had to run to the fire station for a bit but didn’t want to put the soup in the fridge while it was still hot. I added more cheddar cheese per my preference whenever I had a bowl.

**About the tomatoes: I only used Roma because they looked healthier than the other tomatoes.

Next time I make this, I will probably add a bit more heat to it – maybe ground cayenne. I also want a little bit of a crunch to it, so some tortilla chips might be crushed and added as a crunchy garnish. Regardless, it was pretty wonderful to come home to soup that just needed re-heated after long day of work or class or both!