There really is no such thing as a simple gumbo, is there? I’ve been in the grip of a wonderful chest cold all week ~ hurrah for the first week of real spring weather and being hit by the Mack truck of colds! ~ and longing for a delicious bowl of gumbo to restore my senses and my spirits
.. but all the recipes I have found call for about fortyleventeen ingredients, and I don’t have the strength to stand up long enough to measure and chop all that stuff! I’m even looking at a recipe that calls for peeling and deveining a pound of shrimp and ends 20 ingredients later with fresh crabmeat and a jar of pimentos. What’s wrong with these chefs? I’m weak, weak I tell ya’! I need something easy.
Crockpot time! I grabbed a copy of the Best of the Best from Tennessee Cookbook, and found an easy one-pot soup that should get me through the weekend. It’s not gumbo, that will have to wait for now. Maybe a reader has an easy gumbo recipe to send me?
Five-Can Slow-Cooker Soup
Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 can pinto beans
1 can ranch-style beans
1 can tomatoes with chiles
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can corn (creamed or whole kernel)
1 packet ranch salad dressing mix
1 packet taco seasoning mix
2 T chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
(all cans approximately 15 oz size)
Brown the ground beef and onion in a skillet, stirring until the beef is crumbly; drain well; spoon into slow cooker. Add, without draining, all the canned ingredients. Stir in seasoning packets and cilantro and mix everything well. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Delicious with corn bread and a green salad. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
I think I can stand long enough to open 5 cans and cook the beef. This sounds pretty tasty, really. I’m intrigued to find out how the flavors of the seasoning packets blend with the vegetables and beef during the slow cooking process. And it’s great that we have so many more canned options available these days, like the seasoned tomatoes – a real time-saver.
Another extraordinary day here in the valley – I said I’d report on the high mountain white stuff – still a few stubborn spots lingering up there, but I know they’ll be gone soon.
I hope it’s an extraordinary day and weekend wherever you are!
~Janet @ The Christmas Place
