Mexican Taco Stew

 I found this recipe in the Whole Foods Market free pamphlet of coupons and recipes. It has been a favorite of ours for a while now and is so versatile! I have passed it on to many of my friends and family. Hope you enjoy it!!

Ingredients

1/2 lb. of ground beef or turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped (or 1 t. of minced garlic cloves)
2 tablespoons taco seasoning
2 cups chicken broth (I do more broth, cause it makes it more soupy and not so thick. Plus I add more zucchini and corn, so I just make sure the broth is slightly above the ingredients. It comes to about 3-4 cups of broth.)

1 large zucchini or summer squash, sliced and then cut into small triangular cubes. (you can add more or less, I sometimes do 2 zucchini if I have them.)
1 (15-ounce) can black beans

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes (I don't add these. I prefer fresh tomatoes, but not really in my soup.)

1 cup frozen corn kernels (or more if you'd like)

1 cup medium salsa

• 
  Note: The versatility comes in what you can substitute. Here is a list of what I have done:

• Beef or Turkey- substitute with cubed or shredded chicken

• Onion - substitute with 1Tablespoon onion powder when seasoning meat

• Taco seasoning - substitute with 2 T. of enchilada sauce or even just season your meat with your own seasonings. What I do: 2-3 teas. of cilantro (or parsley), 2 teas. of garlic powder or garlic salt, 1-2 teas. of black pepper and salt.

•  Black beans - substitute with pinto beans or Northern White beans

• Medium Salsa - substitute with mild or hot salsa, a mixture of different salsa's, a green chile salsa, or even make your own fresh salsa and use that. But just a side note, the salsa is the key ingredient to making this stew taste fabulous! :o)

                                                      Method
 

Brown meat in a large pot over medium high heat. Drain, remove and set aside. In the same pot you just cooked the meat in, saute onion and garlic until onion is translucent. Add meat back to pot and sprinkle mixture with taco seasoning to blend. Add remaining ingredients and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, 15 to 20 minutes.  I will always taste test the broth first. If it seems a bit flat, then I add some more salt. I will always add my salt last, because the cooking basically evaporates the salt flavor. Enjoy!!

I serve it with warmed flour tortillas, tortilla chips, shredded Mexican cheese, sour cream and lemon-salted cucumbers. 

  

Lemon-salted Cucumbers

To make the lemon-salted cucumbers, just peel and slice one or two seedless cucumbers or regular cucumbers and put in a medium sized bowl (or one with enough room to stir well.) Cut one lemon and squeeze the juice over the cucumbers into the bowl. Make sure you get all the juice, there should be about a 1/4 in. of juice in the bowl. Add more lemon juice if one doesn't give you enough.  Stir the cucumbers and lemon juice until all the cucumbers have been separated and coated with lemon juice. Sprinkle about 2-3 teas. of sea salt or Himalayan salt over the cucumbers. Mix up well and taste test to see if you need more salt. The lemon juice should become not as tart once the salt is added. Just sprinkle a bit more salt if they are too tart. 

If you have any questions, please comment below. :o)