BaconAndOtherBadHabits: Don't Go South For Winter, Just Go South of the Border

All cooks find inspiration somewhere. I read a lot of other food blogs and subscribe to recipe feeds. One of my favorite finds is from Whole Foods Market. While I don't always follow their recipe true to course, sometimes something they feature gets my brain into thinking along a path. This recipe is *almost* what was printed, but I of course had to make a few tweaks... I changed up the order of things and made my own "taco seasoning." I never was terribly good at following the rules...

Taco Soup
--1 pound of ground chicken or turkey
-- cumin
--paprika
--ancho chili powder
--garlic powder
--onion powder
--crushed red pepper flakes
--oregano
--salt & pepper
--1 medium onion, chopped  
--garlic cloves, minced
--1 large zucchini, quartered
--1 14.5oz. can diced tomatoes
--2 cups chicken broth
--1 15oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
--1 cup frozen corn
-- 1 cup salsa

Brown the meat in a dutch oven over medium high heat. Season the meat with the dried spices. Using a slotted spoon, remove the meat.

Add the onion and garlic to the pot and sauté until onion is translucent.Add the zucchini and saute for a few minutes to allow the veggies to start to get tender. Add the meat back to the pot. Taste it! Does it need more seasoning? Add some spices if it does!

Add each of the remaining ingredients one at a time, stirring to mix each individual ingredient before adding the next one. I don't know why, but in my head soups and stews always taste better when you add in each ingrendient singularly.