Santa Fe Soup (makes 5-6 servings)

I buy the ingredients for this soup every single time I go to the grocery store. When I’m busy or tired (or slammed with a backlog of Hulu to catch up on), making this is honestly easier than running out for fast food.

This recipe almost seemed too simple to post, but then I imagined you, realizing it’s 11 pm and you haven’t eaten anything yet, and suddenly you’re too hungry to think straight, and why do you live in this godforsaken town where everything closes so early, and nothing’s open on Monday anyways, and there is nothing in the world to eat, and DESPAIR. Ok, I might have been imagining me, but in any case, here’s an almost embarrassingly easy recipe to have on hand for those moments. Better safe than sorry.

Real food?

Store-bought seasoning packets have long lists of ingredients, but it’s really not too hard to make your own taco and ranch seasoning. I have homemade versions of both in my freezer, and I use them for other things (that ranch seasoning is clutch in chickpea salad), but for some reason that makes no sense at all, I usually buy the packets for Santa Fe Soup. Of course, buttermilk ranch packets do contain dairy, so if I shooting for a 100% plant-based meal, I use homemade ranch seasoning.

As a side note, this soup is a pretty good source of protein. Even though I don’t eat much meat, I’m convinced that protein deficiency isn’t a concern for me (even the long-haired radicals over at the CDC seem to agree), but if you’re a vegetarian, a vegan, or a person who casually orders a veggie plate on occasion, I know you get asked about this all. the. time.

Cook time:

Have you started yet? Good, so you’re pretty much done!    

     

Price:                                  

$1.50/serving

Ingredients

1 large can chili beans 

1 can black beans 

1 can kidney beans 

1 can whole kernel corn 

1 can Rotel tomatoes 

1 packet taco seasoning 

1 packet ranch seasoning 

Saltine crackers (optional)

Shredded cheese (optional)

Directions

1.  Mix all ingredients (without draining) and heat on the stove.

Um, yea… that’s it. 

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