Taco Soup

I'm in the process of concocting taco soup while I type. It's not hard. It's actually super, super easy. Easier than tacos themselves if such a thing were possible. Here's the scoop.

How I Do It:
1. Rinse around 1.5 to 2 cups of dried beans in a colander.
2. Dump the beans in the crock pot, salt them (like 1.5 tsp.), and cover them by an inch or so in water.
3. Cook them on low if you need them to take a while or high if you're in a hurry. It makes almost no difference.
4. Check periodically to make sure the water isn't all absorbed. If it is, add more.
5. Once the beans are done, add these things--
a. A pound of browned ground beef
b. A couple cans of diced tomatoes, undrained
c. A can of Rotel tomatoes or tomatoes with chilies, undrained (if I've got this)
d. 2 cans of undrained corn
e. A pack of taco seasoning
6. Stir it all together, and cook it for like 4 hours on high or all day on low. I mean, you guys know crock pots. No one sets a timer.
7. Serve with grated cheese on top and tortilla chips on the side. I personally use my spoon only for directing the soup to the chip.

"Suggestions" The Original Recipe Calls For That I Ignore:
1. They say to use 2 cans of kidney beans and 2 cans of pinto beans in lieu of cooking your own beans.
2. They say to add a pack of ranch dressing mix. I had bought a pack before I made this the first time, but once I started putting things together, I noticed the pack was open or something, so I did without, and we liked it. So I've decided not to mess with a good thing. I don't like ranch dressing anyway, so I'm just as happy.

There you have it.