Taco Casserole

It feels so good to be online again! Ever since my computer bit the dust last week, I have really missed blogging. Fortunately, I did not stop cooking, so now that I have a new computer, I have plenty of new, yummy recipes to share with you.

First up is this yummy Taco Casserole recipe that my mom clipped out of a newspaper. My family really enjoyed this dish and it was so easy to whip up.

printable recipe

Taco Casserole

serves 8

1 lb lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tbsp (or 1 packet) taco seasoning
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes with chilies, undrained (Rotel)
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (4 oz) bag Doritos
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
2 cups shredded Cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
1 (3 oz) can French-fried onions (found near the canned green beans)

Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Brown ground beef in skillet, then drain off the fat. Add the onion and garlic and cook over medium heat for several minutes, until onion is translucent.

Add the taco seasoning, salt, and pepper, mix well. Pour in the can of diced tomatoes and can of tomato sauce, stir in and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and stir in chips and chopped cilantro. I broke the chips up a little, into bite size pieces but not super small. Mix gently until the chips are coated.

Pour the chip mixture into the baking dish and cover with cheese and french fried onions. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned.

Garnish with sour cream and cilantro sprigs, if desired.

This recipe is featured in Menu Plan 14.

Taco Soup

This is such a yummy, easy soup. Start it in the morning and no matter how busy your afternoon is, you'll have dinner waiting for you when you get home!

I got this recipe off of my friend Julie's blog, Real (Good) Cooking. The flavors are mild, making it very kid-friendly. If you don't have kiddos to worry about and like a bit of a kick, add a few drops of Tabasco.

printable recipe

Taco Soup

serves 4

1 lb ground beef

1 medium onion, diced

1 packet of taco seasoning, or if you buy the big containers like I do, 2 rounded Tbsps

2 cans of diced tomatoes (with chiles if you have them)

1 can corn

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

tortilla chips, cheddar cheese, and sour cream for garnish (optional)

Cook ground beef and onion together over medium-high heat until beef is browned and onion is translucent. Drain off fat.

Add half the packet of taco seasoning (or 1 rounded Tbsp) and 1/4 cup of water to the meat mixture. Cook and stir until seasoning is blended in and water is absorbed.

Place meat mixture in the bottom of your crock pot and add corn and juices, tomatoes and juices and the rinsed black bean. Sprinkle remainder of taco seasoning on top.

Add 1/2 cup of water (tomatoes will give off more juice while cooking) and stir.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. I loved how my house smelled while this was cooking all day!

Serve with chips, shredded cheddar cheese, and a dollop of sour cream!

 This recipe is featured in Menu Plan 9.

 

Chicken Quesadillas

This was such a fun, easy meal to make and we all enjoyed eating it. This was originally a Pioneer Woman recipe, but I modified it a bit for our tastes. The result? Hot, cheesy deliciousness!

printable recipe

Chicken Quesadillas

Serves 3-4

4 tortillas

1 lb chicken breast

1 onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

2 Tbsp olive oil

8 oz medium enchilada sauce

2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese

2 Tbsp butter

cilantro and sour cream for garnish, if desired

Cut the chicken into chunks.

Pour the enchilada sauce over the chicken.

Set sauce and chicken aside.

Heat olive oil over high heat in a skillet and throw in the veggies.

Let the veggies sit for a bit then stir and saute until they start to brown.

Set the veggies aside in a bowl and heat the skillet back up. Pour in chicken and sauce and let sit for a minute again.

Then stir and saute until cooked through. Add more sauce if it starts to dry up. I had to decrease the heat to medium-high to prevent the sauce from burning while the chicken cooked.

Cut the chicken up into small pieces.

Heat a little bit of butter in a separate skillet over medium heat.

Place a tortilla in the skillet and cover with half of the cheese. Add half the veggies and chicken. Cover with the other tortilla. Flip as soon as it browns, adding butter to the skillet before cooking the other side.

Repeat with other tortillas and remaining ingredients. This whole process happens very quickly so I wasn't able to get pictures. Instead, here is a cute picture of my dog Jack on Christmas. Forgive me?

Here is the finished product. We served it with Cilantro Lime Rice from the Cafe Rio-style Sweet Pork Salad recipe. Next time I might try serving it with some spiced-up black beans. Yummy!



This recipe is featured in Menu Plan 7.

Tacoritos

This recipe is a fun combination of tacos, burritos, and enchiladas. The key is to use HOT ground sausage, to give the flavor a good kick. I like to serve it with lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream, alongside my friend Amy's Zesty Mexican Rice.

This recipe is adapted from one I found in a Taste of Home magazine last year.

*Note: this recipe can be easily doubled to serve 8, just bake it in a 9"x13" pan. Alternatively, you can double the recipe and freeze half before baking for an easy pull-out-of-the-freezer-and-bake meal for a busy day.

Tacoritos

printable recipe 

serves 4

2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
2 cups water
1 1/2 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb HOT pork sausage
2 Tbsp finely chopped onion
1/2 cup refried beans
4 flour tortillas (8 in)
2 cups (8 oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. 

Stir in flour until smooth. 

Gradually add water and bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 1 minute, mixture will start to thicken a bit. 

Stir in chili powder and garlic salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. 

In a large skillet, cook the beef, sausage and onion until the meat is no longer pink, drain off the fat. 

Stir in the refried beans and heat through.

Spread 1/4 cup sauce in a greased 9x9 inch dish, or I like to use my rectangular Corningware casserole dish.

Spread 1 Tbsp sauce on a tortilla.

Spoon a quarter of the meat mixture (about 2/3 cup) down the center of tortilla. 

Top with a handful of cheese (about a quarter cup).

Roll up and place seam side down in prepared dish.

Repeat with remaining tortillas. 

Pour remaining sauce over the top. 

Sprinkle with remaining cheese. 

Bake, uncovered, at 350F for 18-22 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly. 

Serve with toppings such as shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, olives, sour cream, cilantro or whatever your heart desires! 

 

This recipe is featured in Menu Plan 7.

Cafe Río-style Sweet Pork Salad

For all you Cafe Río fans out there, here is a copycat recipe for their ever-popular Sweet Pork Barbacoa Salad. We thought this meal was excellent, so flavorful and satisfying. It can be adjusted to suit your tastes, but below is the basic recipe.

Some elements of this meal have been adapted from a recipe found on Favorite Family Recipes and the pork recipe I got from my sister-in-law Katie.

I was just asked how many servings this makes and I would say 4-6. There is enough pork and salad dressing for 6 generous salads, but if you like a lot of rice and beans, you may want to double the rice recipe and use two cans of black beans. Just go by how your family usually eats. Have fun!

Cafe Río-style Sweet Pork Salad

printable recipe 

The first step is to make the pork, start it about 5-6 hours before you would like to serve dinner.

Crockpot Sweet Pork

 3-4 lbs pork (I use 4 bone-in pork chops)

garlic salt

1 can Coke or Dr. Pepper (not diet) 

16 oz. salsa

4 oz can green chilies

1 Tbsp taco seasoning

1 Tbsp cumin

1 cup brown sugar

Sprinkle pork with garlic salt (if using a pork roast, cut into fist sized chunks, pork chops can be left whole) and place in crock pot.

Pour in 1 cup of water and can of soda. Cover and cook on high for 5 hours or until it can be shredded easily.

Remove bones and shred pork.

Add the rest of the ingredients. Cook for another hour.

Cilantro-Lime Rice

1 cup uncooked rice

1 tsp butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups chicken stock

1 Tbsp lime juice

2 tsp sugar

2 Tbsp fresh chopped cilantro

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix into rice.

As the rice cooks, prepare dressing:

Cilantro Ranch

1 packet Traditional Hidden Valley Ranch mix (not buttermilk)

1 cup mayo

1 cup buttermilk

2 tomatillos, remove husk, diced

1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro

1 clove garlic

juice of 1 lime

1 jalapeño, seeded

Mix all ingredients together in the blender.

Heat tortillas (1 tortilla per salad) with monterey jack and cheddar sprinkled on them in oven at 350F for about 5 minutes, until cheese melts.

Top with warmed black beans then Cilantro-Lime Rice.

Add pork (use a slotted spoon to remove from crock pot).

Add lettuce, salsa or pico de gallo, sour cream and/or guacamole, dressing and (optional) garnish: crushed tortilla chips, a shake of Parmesan cheese, and cilantro. We had to add our new favorite condiment: Chipotle Tabasco sauce. This stuff is seriously addicting! 

Enjoy your salad, Cafe Río in the comfort of your own home!

This recipe is featured in Meal Plan: December 6-12.