Crockpot Rodeo Cowboy Soup - Penny Pinching in Tight Times

Rodeo Cowboy Soup
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You need a large 6 Quart or Bigger crock pot for this, or if you don't have on yet and are home for the morning you can easily cook this in a large stockpot on the stove.

2 Pounds of Meat - either Ground Beef, 1/2 Ground Beef and 1/2 Sausage, or I prefer 1/2 Ground Turkey and 1/2 Ground Turkey Sausage as it is much better for you and usually cheaper too. You can Half the meat to 1 pound and add another can of beans if your stretching your food bill. I precook in the Microwave while I'm chopping and getting everything else ready so I can graze off a bowl by lunchtime.

2 Onions Chopped - Vidalias are our personal favorite, but use whatever you prefer: White, Yellow, Red, etc.

1 or 2 Bell Peppers Chopped - 1 use 1 red and 1 (green or yellow) bell pepper for extra color

1 clove of Garlic minced

1 or 2 cans of corn - If I'm making on the stove I'll often put in a can of yellow, and also a can of white shoepeg corn

5 Assorted Cans of Beans - DO NOT DRAIN-Dump the entire cans! I usually use 1 can of dark kidney beans, 1 can of black beans, 1 can of Light Red Kidney or Red Beans, 1 can of Bush's Chili beans (the hot variety is great if you can find it) and 1 can of Navy beans. I have used Black eyed peas, and also Garbanzos and those worked too.

2 can of Rotel tomatoes and green chilis. These come either Mild, or Hot.

1 packet of Dry taco seasoning mix. I prefer the Low salt variety if you can find it.

1 Packet of Dry Ranch dressing mix.

1 Large can of V-8 (I believe these are 32oz ), the Spicy variety is wonderful if you can find it. You can use tomato juice in a pinch or I sometimes use 2- 16 ounce cans of diced tomatoes instead.

Turn on High and off you go. Goes great with cornbread, biscuits, etc. My 3 teens love it especially on Friday night's before going to the football games. This is even better the next day if you have some leftover. If you have a very tight budget you can easily serve this on top of rice, or if you cook it on the stove you can add a couple of cups of chicken, or beef stock to thin this some. We personally like it on the thicker side.