There used to be a restaurant chain here in the Midwest called Max & Erma’s that had delicious chicken tortilla soup. It was creamy, lightly spicy and so comforting on a cold day.

Sadly, I think the chain mostly went out of business a few years ago, and the only one still around is at the airport, I think.

This Crockpot Taco Soup is inspired by, but quite a bit different than that restaurant soup. My version is a little lighter (less creamy) and uses ground beef instead of chicken.

Unlike many other crock pot soup recipes out there, this one doesn’t just have a dull, one-note flavor. Deeply browned ground beef, tomatoes, two types of beans, green chiles and lots of seasoning give this soup layers of comforting flavor.

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With as much as we love our fajita vegetables recipe around here, now I’m wondering why I didn’t plant bell peppers in my garden this summer!

I DID plant shishito peppers, so we’re regularly enjoying blistered shishitos. But maybe you DID plant bell peppers, or you just like fajitas as much as we do.

I normally use beef and chicken for a fajita bar for a crowd, and often do vegetarian fajitas for a quick weeknight dinner. But I also absolutely love using shrimp for fajitas.

Because shrimp is so quick cooking, this healthy shrimp fajita recipe comes together in a flash anytime you need a quick meal. Even better, it’s made on one sheet pan!

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Taco Mac and Cheese

People often think that because I went to culinary school and run a food blog for a living, that my family eats fancy meals like goat cheese risotto or salmon stuffed with crab every night.

The truth is, we’re just like every other American family: busy all day long trying to balance work and childcare. When we sit down for dinner, we pretty much just want frozen lasagna recipe cottage cheese, or tacos and mac and cheese like everybody else.

Sure, once in awhile (mostly on the weekends when we’re feeling ambitious), it’s short rib tacos or pimento mac and cheese. But for the most part, it’s ground beef tacos with taco seasoning or classic elbow noodles with lots of gooey cheese.

This Mexican macaroni recipe is inspired by a mac and cheese with ground beef dish that Jeff used to make quite often in college, to cheaply feed a crowded house full of students.

I’ve written this taco mac and cheese recipe to be something you can easily get on the table in less than 30 minutes to deliciously satisfy your family on a weeknight.

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