Ms. Bear’s Kitchen: Taco soup!

Hello again for another installment of Ms. Bear’s Kitchen!! As usual, I couldn’t decide what to make, so I did some browsing online and found a couple really neat new recipes. We all agreed that this may be our favorite meal yet. Plus, it was fast…after I mixed up the soup and muffins, we had time to play our nightly game of Scattergories — and, there is inevitably another funny story about Melissa to be told. So, we are playing the game and the letter was F, which means that all the answers had to start with F. So, we are all sharing all our answers and Melissa’s answers all started with G…we laughed and laughed as our dinner cooked, and a happy memory was made! And, to be honest, we made fun of her a little too!!!! But it all worked to my and Janelle’s advantage since we were able to rack up some major points without having to compete with Melissa — she usually beats both of us! It must be the writer in her!

Anyway, today’s dinner consisted of taco soup (yes, I never heard of it either!), peanut butter chocolate chip muffins (yes, those two things don’t really seem to go together, but we enjoyed them!) and a special red, white and blue fruit medley for the Fourth of July! Here’s what you need…

Taco soup — I modified it a bit, as they called for a slow cooker soup, and as usual, I didn’t have time to do it in the morning. So I just made it on the stove (this is just half the recipe, and we still got enough soup for two nights!)…

*1/2-pound hamburger, cooked
*1/2 white onion
*1 can tomatoes
*8-oz can of tomato sauce
*1 can chili beans (I used 1/2 can kidney beans and 1/2 can chili beans)
*1/2 can corn
*1/2 package taco seasoning mix
*1/2 can Rotel tomatoes with green chili (I only used a couple tablespoons because they are so spicy)
*1 cup water

Cook the hamburger and mix all the ingredients in a pan. Heat for an hour or so to make the flavors come out.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins — Stir together 2 cups flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1 Tablespoon baking powder and 1 cup chocolate chips in a bowl and set aside.
Mix 1 cup milk, 2 large eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 cup peanut butter, and 1/3 cup oil in a separate bowl. Combine the two bowls and mix until just moistened. Add a few chocolate chips on the top and bake for 14 minutes at 375 degrees. They are like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup in a muffin tin!

Patriotic Fruit Cup — easy and fun! On Tuesday, we had a Fourth of July parade in summer school (that’s where the hat came from…), so the dessert just came together. Mix strawberries and blueberries in a bowl. Top with Cool Whip and enjoy! Red, white and blue, just in time for the Fourth!

And, speaking of the Fourth of July, have a happy one from all of us here at Ms. Blake’s Kitchen! Until next time…..