A Night Among Friends

Mark & Amber

Me & Luke

Taco Soup

The fixin's for the soup

Grandma's Mexican Cornbread

The Kingdom Cake/Aunt Lottie's Cake

Friday night Luke and I invited Mark and Amber over for dinner. I made a Taco Soup with all the fixin's, Mexican Cornbread, and The Kingdom Cake...or Aunt Lottie's Cake. It was SO good! Mark and Amber are a blast to hang out with. Amber convinced me to paint pottery which we are going to do soon...I hope! Of course I had to take a few pictures. Enjoy!

Taco Soup
2 pounds ground beef
2 cups diced onions
2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans pinto beans
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can pink kidney beans
1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can tomatoes with chiles
2 (4 1/2-ounce) cans diced green chiles
1 (4.6-ounce) can black olives, drained and sliced, optional
1/2 cup green olives, sliced, optional
1 (1 1/4-ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (1-ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix
Corn chips, for serving
Sour cream, for garnish
Grated cheese, for garnish
Chopped green onions, for garnish
Pickled jalapenos, for garnish
Directions
Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet; drain the excess fat, then transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot. Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chiles, black olives, green olives, taco seasoning, and ranch dressing mix, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove. To serve, place a few corn chips in each bowl and ladle soup over them. Top with sour cream, cheese, green onions and jalapenos.

Grandma's Mexican Cornbread
3 c. cornmeal mix
1/2 c. crisco oil
2 T. sugar
2 1/2 c. milk
2 eggs
1 c. cream style corn
2 1/2 c. grated cheese
1/2 small can green chiles
Mix all together. Pour into 9x13 and bake at 400 degrees til brown


Aunt Lottie's Cake/Kingdom Cake
In a saucepan bring to a boil:
1 stick butter
1/2 c. shortening
1 c. water
4 T. cocoa

Pour over:
2 c. flour
2 c. sugar
Stir til smooth. Then add 2 eggs, 1/2 c. buttermilk, 1 t. soda, 1 t. cinnamon and 1 t. vanilla. Stir until smooth and pour into a 11x15 pan (9x13 makes it too rich). Bake 350 for 20-30 minutes. Make the icing while the cake is baking:
1 stick butter
4 T. cocoa
5 T. milk
Heat butter and cocoa and milk til melted. Add 1 box powdered sugar. Beat well and spread on the cake when it comes out of the oven.