Wouldn’t You Like To Be A Pepper Too? – Dr. Pepper Taco Soup

Okay. Before we even begin reviewing today’s recipe, let me point out that I realize that you may already be wrinkling your nose and shaking your head in disbelief. I mean, come on, making a soup with canned veggies, seasoning packets, and with ... with ... with ... Dr. Pepper?!!

Well, folks, I stand guilty as charged. I made this soup. With Dr. Pepper. With canned stuff. With seasoning packets. And you know what? It delivered. After all, we've all see recipes for roasts made with soda, and I've even seen baked goods that have lemon/lime soda in them. Sodas function as a sweetener in stews and roasts. It's been eons since I had a Dr. Pepper, and for some reason, I just felt compelled to try it. Plus, I was curious to see what reactions I'd get here in blogland.

All the reviews about this soup were 5-star ravings, and while it’s quite simply a basic chili, it was easy to make and eaten down to the last drop. I will make this again, next time using my own spices and goodies, but it was well worth making it this way first to get a feel for what it is supposed to taste like.This kind of reminds me of recipes that you’d find in a community cookbook ... simple ingredients, no special bells and whistles required, and actually pretty tasty. I found this recipe as I was searching for some regional Texas foods, and this recipe kept popping up. Now, I’ve never been to Texas, except to change planes, and so I can’t really say how Texan’s feel about their Dr. Pepper. But as I said earlier, this got really good reviews. So, like the old commercial jingle that used to say, “Wouldn’t you like to be a pepper, too. Be a pepper, drink Dr. Pepper!,” I gave this a whirl.

Here we go:

1-1/2 lbs. Extra Lean Ground Beef
½ cup chopped onion
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
2 8 oz cans tomato sauce
1 15 oz can corn
1 15 oz can ranch style beans (I'm sure any chili style beans would do)
1 packet taco seasoning (I used a wheat free/low sodium mix. Next time, I'll use my own blend)
1 packet ranch dressing mix (I used Hidden Valley brand; again, wheat free)
Dash Garlic Powder
12 oz Dr. Pepper

Shredded cheese (Please make me a happy gal and shred your own!)
Corn Chips

In a large stock pot, brown the ground beef and onions. Drain any fat. Add all the rest of the ingredients, except for the cheese and corn chips. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 30 minutes. Done. Garnish with shredded cheese and serve with corn chips. Note: The original recipe called for salt. There was no way I was going to add additional salt to this since the packets already contain sodium (and I used reduced sodium stuff). Garnish as you would for chili ... sour cream would be good, too. Also, some of the reviews I read suggested serving with cocktail peanuts on the side, too.Mmm. Have a bite! This tastes very similar to chili made with beer. I mean REALLY similar to it. Surprisingly, you can't taste the Dr. Pepper flavor at all. It has great texture with the beef, corn, tomatoes, and beans vying for attention. I really enjoyed the corn in it, and immediately thought how good this will this summer with fresh corn at my disposal. And, this is gluten free!
Do you ever dip corn chips into your chili?How about using the chip as a spoon?Go ahead, let your inner child out and just drop a few right into the soup!. My littlest one and I had lunch together today -- just the two of us while hubbyman took the older two out for lunch, and she gobbled it right up. Guess that means that she and I are Peppers.Would you like to be a pepper, too?

Now’s here’s something we hope you’ll really like .... Speaking of my little one, hubbyman took all three kids to the Portland Trailblazer’s game last night. For those who don’t follow sports, the Trailblazer’s are Portland’s Professional Basketball team. Anyway, my littlest trailblazer got all dressed up for the game – all on her own I might add. She wore her hair up and stuck a black and red pompom in her hair like a wig, and made a poster cheering on her hometown team. Well, during the game, the camera man pans the crowd and puts up photos of various fans on the gargantuan sized jumbo-tron screen.Isn't she a doll? (All my kids are charming.) My little miss got her picture up 7 times last night. Hubbyman said that the wee one’s photo was up more often and longer than anyone else. Considering that their seats were up in what we lovingly call the nose bleed section because they are up so high and far from the court, that’s pretty cool. Oh, and the cameraman also included my other two a couple times as well. Fun Stuff!