Spicy Succotash Soup

It should be no surprise to you at this point that we like spicy food…..lots of spicy food. A majority of what I cook for dinner is spicy. My favorite spice is cumin, and lots of it! This recipe from Taste of Home didn’t originally call for cumin…..but I added it. I’m sneaky like that. I love quick and easy soups that I can serve to my family. The best thing about them is that they’re actually better the next day! I love making a big pot of soup and having lunch to pack for Barry all week long – unless it’s a soup that I LOVE and then I keep it all for myself. Sharing is not caring. That’s a lie.

To make Spicy Succotash Soup we need ground beef, rotini noodles, cumin, soy sauce, garlic powder, onion, sweet pepper, frozen lima beans, frozen corn, diced tomatoes, green chilies, and water. Now, what is succotash anyway? Well, I’m gonna tell you – it’s lima beans and corn mixed together. That’s it. Were you expecting something exciting? Actually, you can find recipes for making Succotash and they call for lots of different things, but when you buy it at the store it’s just limas and corn – delicious! I didn’t use a mix of succotash this time because of a really good reason. Ready? Kroger was out. That’s it. So, I got creative and just bought a bag of frozen limas and a bag of frozen corn. I’m a genius. You can be a genius too! If your Kroger isn’t out, you can just substitute a 10 ounce package of succotash for the limas and corn in this recipe.

Grab your soup pot and get cooking. I’m currently lusting after this soup pot. I want one. Really bad. I dream about them at night….if I had one, I’d hug it every day. Why don’t I have one? Because they cost about a million dollars. And y’all know by now that $1 is about my threshold…..if I cross that, pain is usually involved. So, if you love me and want to make me very happy, consider sending me one of these pots! But since I don’t currently have one, in your non-LeCreuset soup pot, brown your ground beef, onion, and garlic powder. Stir it regularly so that the meat breaks up into little pieces.

I don’t always drain fat, but I do for soup. I usually tilt my pan and push all the meat to the top. I leave it for a little bit until the grease runs down and then I scoop it out with a spoon. That’s it. I don’t get my colander out for this. Who wants to wash extra dishes? If you do, you’re welcome here any time.

Now, put your pot back on the stove and add the canned tomatoes, green chilies, soy sauce, cumin, water, and rotini. Bring it to a boil.

Put the pot lid on and reduce the heat. You want it to simmer about 15 minutes so the pasta can cook and the flavors can mingle. It’s a good party skill to mingle. We could learn a lot from spices in soup.

After 15 minutes, take the lid off and add the lima beans, corn, and chopped sweet pepper.  Put the lid back on and simmer about 5-10 minutes or until the beans and corn are done.

This was really yummy. It’s very filling and great for a cold day. It tastes a WHOLE lot better the next day. Just like my mama’s homemade vegetable soup. I wish I could make her soup. Mine never tastes that good…..she adds some kind of special ingredient – I just know it. She’s hiding it from me. For now I’ll just have to be happy with this soup – and I’m quite happy.  Be happy with me and try it soon!