Some tasty hocus pocus goes into this soup that’s perfect for Halloween

I love the fall and everything that comes with it, including colorful leaves, crisp mornings and the food transition that comes with the changing seasons. I have started craving warm spices like cinnamon and can’t wait to make my first loaf of pumpkin bread or spiced apples.

Most of all, I love the anticipation my kids always had around Halloween. Whether it was what they would wear for a costume, the first seasonal party at school or carving pumpkins, Halloween was always a favorite. As a room mom, I enjoyed researching fun party games and themed snacks, which led me to purchase an actual brain gelatin mold; I would fill it with gelatin and serve it for my older kids’ classroom parties, especially appreciated by 4th grade boys who would use a plastic knife to carve a snack. I still smile thinking about it.

Once the party was over, the real work began with my kids trying to figure out how many houses they could visit before the trick-or-treating window closed. As the person who usually chaperoned the adventure, my challenge was always having a warm, healthy meal waiting for us at the end of the day. This is where my slow cooker, filled with a concoction that on Halloween I called Witch’s Brew, would come to the rescue.

My sisters and I were Girl Scouts for most of our childhood; our mom was a leader extraordinaire for many years. I remember going on a scout camping weekend and being asked to bring a can of soup, any can, as long as it wasn’t cream-based. When the time was right, we each opened our cans and dumped them into a large pot to make Witch’s Brew. I can imagine your reaction, likely at least a raised eyebrow. But it was actually very good. My mom, always thinking with her scout leader hat on, would go on to incorporate this into our family camping tradition periodically, too, with my sisters and I each being able to pick a soup.

It was this practice that inspired me to give this soup its name. You see, this started as a very salty taco soup with hardly any vegetables but great flavor. To make it healthier, I combined a vegetable soup recipe with my original taco soup recipe and this was the outcome. And while on another day I would just call it healthy taco soup, on Halloween, Witch’s Brew seems more appropriate.

To make it even more themed, consider putting some sour cream in a squirt bottle and making a spider web design on top of a bowl of soup before serving. Then let your kids add their own toppings, maybe some black olives, grated cheddar cheese or crumbled tortilla chips. I usually have bowls of our favorite taco toppings on hand as options.

I like to always include substitutions beyond the recipe for those who might not have all the ingredients on hand, or in the case of my current pot of soup, I decided to share, I made it with fresh tomatoes from my garden. I had so many on hand it seemed silly to buy cans, so I added an equal amount of diced fresh tomatoes. This required me to add a little extra salt, as canned tomatoes are usually salted, along with spicy pepper, since my soup would not benefit from the flavor of the Rotel addition.

You should also feel free to use ground turkey or another substitute if you’d like. The same goes for the beans. The recipe calls for only black beans, but you could easily add different types of beans. Some taco soup recipes call for a combination of black and kidney beans.

You shouldn’t omit the taco season and ranch dip mix, as they add a unique flavor that brings this soup to life. Of course, homemade versions of these are always fine.

My family loves this soup any day, but it became one of the several I would serve on Halloween. That being said, I once remember my son requesting it for his birthday in January, and he was sure to mention he wanted it served just like on Halloween, which meant complete with sour cream spider webs. Hopefully, your family, regardless of whether you will be trick-or-treating or not, will like it, too.

• Penny Kazmier, a wife and mother of four from South Barrington, won the 2011 Daily Herald Cook of the Week Challenge. Contact Penny at DhCulinaryAdventures@gmail.com.

Good For You Taco Soup, My Witch’s Brew

1½ pounds lean ground beef, turkey, chicken or substitute, browned and crumbled

1 large onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup thinly sliced celery

1 cup small diced carrot

1 ounce package taco seasoning

1 ounce package (3 tablespoons) Ranch Dip Mix

14.5-ounce can chopped tomatoes with green chiles (I like the Rotel brand) *

28-ounce can chopped tomatoes*

8 ounces tomato sauce

2 14.5-ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups frozen corn

3 cups beef broth*

2 cups water

Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish options: Sour cream, diced avocado, sliced black olives, Shredded cheddar cheese, thinly sliced green onions, cilantro leaves, lime wedges, crumbled tortilla or corn chips

Place cooked ground beef, onion, garlic, celery and carrot in a slow cooker; stir to combine. Sprinkle with taco seasoning and ranch dip mix; stir. Add tomatoes and tomato sauce; stir. Stir in black beans and corn. Lastly, add beef broth and water, stirring to combine. Cook on low 6 to 8 hours. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. (You could also add more of the seasoning if you’d like.)

Serve with your choice of garnishes.

*I used an equal amount of fresh tomatoes since I had them on hand from my garden and added a minced hot pepper to add a little heat.

Serves 6 to 8

— Penny Kazmier