Make ahead Taco Soup in a jar

It's taco soup time!!  What better time than busy summers with camping and busy lives, than to have a few meals already pre-measured out into jars, and ready to use?  

Last week, I had an evening where there were 30 people scheduled to descend on our house within an hour, and I needed to get my family fed first.  So...we threw this lovely recipe into a pot with some water.  I didn't have to precook the meat, or open 12 different cans of beans and corn.  While it was cooking, I had time to clean up the house and have everything ready so we could eat and be ready for our guests.  

Then on Saturday night, I went out on date night with my sweetie husband.  Not wanting to leave my kids totally high and dry, but also not wanting to cook a dinner for them (what's the point of going out on a date if I have to cook a meal for the kids first??)...I left my daughter the recipe for my Chicken Alfredo in a jar.  All it required was measuring everything into a pan and adding water. The kids loved it.  They said it was easy for them to make, and they ate every bite of it!  Even my picky 6 year old was raving about it.  

This month, you can make this recipe at a discount because our Ground Beef is on a killer sale!! The sale price is only available to people who are in the Q-club - so you won't even see the best sale price on my website.  It's available to members of the Q-club for $43.79 for our large cans.  All you have to do is get signed up on the Q, our monthly shipment program, and start your budget for at least $100 for the first 3 months of being on the Q.  That's it!  And if you start your first Q to ship this month, you can add the ground beef to your shipment and get the killer price on it!

The recipe below is slightly different from the taco soup I have pictured here...the Thrive diced tomatoes have been out of stock for a while, so I adjusted the recipe to simply add a can of tomatoes for now.  That's what's so cool about Thrive - you have total flexibility to add or subtract ingredients based on what's available or personal taste/allergy needs.

Make ahead Taco Soup in a jar

Serves 4

½ Tbsp. chili powder

1/8 tsp. chipotle powder (optional)

½ tsp. cumin

1 tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. Thrive tomato powder

¼ cup Thrive FD chopped onions

¼ cup Thrive green chili peppers

1 cup Thrive instant pinto beans*

1 cup Thrive instant black beans*

1 cup Thrive ground beef

½ cup Thrive corn

1 can diced tomatoes

Layer everything in a 1 quart mason jar, except for the can of tomatoes.  Place an unused oxygen absorption packet in the top of the jar, then tightly screw on a lid and ring.  Store away from light to ensure a longer shelf life.

Dump contents of jar and the can of tomatoes into 6 cups of cold water in a sauce pan.  Heat to a boil, stirring occasionally, then continue to simmer for about 25-30 minutes until everything is soft.   Serve with tortilla chips and shredded cheese.

*Make sure you use INSTANT pinto beans...not to be confused with your typical raw beans!  The Thrive Instant pinto beans are fabulous because they are already cooked and then dried out, so it only takes about 20 minutes of boiling for them to be ready to eat.  As opposed to raw beans, which require soaking, then boiling for at least 3 hours before they are soft enough to eat.  It's kind of like instant rice - same concept.