Dinner

I decided to focus on using things I currently have as much as possible to cook meals. With a half full fridge and a full deep freeze, the main parts (the meat) are all there so it's mainly figuring out how to work with the canned goods I have in new ways (or ways I haven't used them in a while.) We mainly have pork as it is the cheapest meat in our area. Pork chops, ground pork, sausages and a pork shoulder I cut up into multiple meals.

Since there is basically nothing but pork in terms of meat, I do have to get creative so my family (and me of course) don't get tired of it. This can sometimes be a challenge though I am grateful we have the food we do, don't get me wrong.

I had a few things around that I wanted to clear out tonight though. A can of corn, multiple cans of beans (I still need to figure out what to do with the chickpeas) and I had a small amount of a frozen fajita mix that we picked up over a month ago on sale. There wasn't even enough left for a side so I figured I would use it up.

I looked at the things I wanted to use and originally decided on a taco soup. I may need a new name for it though. It kind of got away from me. The good news, there are leftovers and my family loved it. My daughter even ate two rounds so she got her veggies.

I figured I would share what I used here just in case someone was interested. I can't really call it a full recipe because I don't measure everything so I apologize in advance for that but I did do my best.

I did forget to lay out a few things here. Sorry about that.

Anyway, here's what I used. Of course things can always be switched up and I myself am guilty of rarely (never) following recipes fully when it comes to cooking. Baking is a whole other story of course.

1 large onion

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 a can of crushed tomatoes (should have been a whole can)

1 can of red kidney beans (19oz)

3 small roma tomatoes

1lb ground pork

1/2 can of corn (12oz can)

1 cup fajita mix (peppers and onions)

4 cups of chicken broth

Salt, pepper, garlic powder and chili flakes to taste

In a perfect world, I would have used a full can of crushed tomatoes to give it a darker colour as well as a bit more flavour, but I only had half a can leftover from a pervious recipe. I also only used half a can of corn simply because my husband doesn't like a large amount so I'll save the other half for another meal.

After it was finished I threw in some tortilla chips (still haven't used them all) and a little bit of grated cheddar. I would have liked to use sour cream but I don't currently have any on hand.

This is just how I cook. I don't really measure spices I just test it and see if it's enough. Also note, I probably would have been fine with even half a lb of ground pork but I didn't know that until after.

Just cook the onions and garlic until soft, then brown the meat. I always season the meat at this stage but that's just me. I know some people don't. Toss in your chicken broth, diced and crushed tomatoes, kidney beans, corn and peppers. Simmer for a bit and season to taste.

I am not a professional as I said, this is just how I did it. I would have liked to give it more colour but I worked with what I had and it still tasted good so I'm not too concerned about it.