So, I whipped up a big pot of taco soup the other day. It’s one of those easy wins, right? Throw everything in, let it simmer. But then I looked at it, just the soup, and thought, nah, this needs company. Can’t just serve soup by itself, feels a bit lonely on the table.
First thing that always pops in my head is chips. Gotta have something crunchy to dip, or crumble on top. Dug around the pantry, found a bag of tortilla chips. Sorted. That was the easy part.
Then I thought about something a bit more substantial. Cornbread? Yeah, cornbread usually works. Remembered I had a box mix tucked away. Not fancy, but gets the job done when you’re not trying to impress anyone, just feeding folks.
Making the Cornbread
Pulled out the box mix. Checked the instructions – needed egg, milk, oil. Had all that. Grabbed a bowl, dumped the mix in. Cracked an egg, poured in the milk and oil. Gave it a good stir, but not too much, you know? Lumpy is okay for cornbread. Poured it into a greased pan, shoved it in the oven. Set the timer and hoped for the best.
Other Bits and Pieces
While the cornbread baked, I looked in the fridge. What else? Taco soup screams for toppings.
- Found a block of cheddar. Got out the grater, made a decent pile of shredded cheese.
- Spotted some sour cream. Scooped some into a small bowl. Essential.
- Had an avocado that was just right. Not too hard, not too mushy. Decided against making full guacamole, too much effort. Just sliced it up. Good enough.
- Found half an onion and some cilantro. Chopped those up real fine for anyone who wanted a bit of freshness.
The cornbread finished baking, smelled pretty good. Let it cool for a few minutes before cutting it into squares.
So, ended up with the soup, a big bowl of chips, the warm cornbread, shredded cheese, sour cream, sliced avocado, and chopped onions and cilantro. Laid it all out. Felt much better, more like a proper meal. Everyone could just add what they liked. Worked out pretty well, actually. Simple stuff, but it did the trick.
