Taco Cups

One of my favorite dishes to make is the Taco Ring. (Pillsbury Dough + Taco Meat = Amazingness) I was asked to bring an appetizer for a dinner party so I decided to make these "mini taco rings". You might see them called taco muffins or taco cups. Either way, they are delicious!

There are lots of different ways to do these. I've seen them with wonton wrappers, pillsbury dough biscuits, or crescent rolls, dough from scratch, and tostito chips. I went with pillsbury dough biscuits. 

I've seen these with black beans, salsa, ground turkey, and ground beef. I went with extra lean ground beef. You can throw in diced onions too. I went with avocados & tomatoes. But you can top with lettuce & sour cream. Endless possibilities, make them your own. 



Ingredients:
3/4 pound lean ground beef or turkey
1 envelope of taco seasoning or 1/4 cup
1/2 cup water
1 can Pillsbury biscuits
1/2 cup tomato, diced

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese or mexican blend
1 avocado diced


Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cook ground beef in skillet until brown.
Stir in taco seasoning & water.
Simmer for a few minutes until water is evaporated.
Meanwhile, spray muffin tin with cooking spray.
And place 1 biscuit in each muffin cup and press down on the bottom and partway up the sides forming a cup. (I had 10 biscuits, but used a muffin pan for 12 - see picture).

The trick is to really form a thin muffin cup. It will bubble up when it cooks and you want to make sure they meat & cheese doesn't overflow.
Add meat/onion mixture into center of each cup, but don't add too much.
Bake in oven for about 10 minutes. 
Top with shredded cheese and cook for an additional 5 minutes until cheese is melted.
Top avocado & tomato after removed from the oven.

What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

Twice-Baked Taco Potatoes

These came out so well, I'm so proud!



My mother sent me this recipe she found a couple weeks ago and we were having people over, so it was the perfect opportunity to try them out. Most people love mashed-potatoes and most people love tacos. Put them together to create a masterpiece!

I had a lot of commitments on Thursday night, so I prepared them on Wednesday and had my husband bake them in the oven for 30 minutes just in time for our dinner guests. I know you can freeze twice-baked potatoes so you can try doing that too. Enjoy!


Each potato can serve 2 people, or 1 if you are hungry. I was on a time crunch so I used the microwaveable potatoes (aren't all potatoes microwaveable?). They worked like a dream. I would highly recommend them. They would work better for small amounts though. If you are only making for 4 people then they are definitely the way to go. You have to bake them for 8 minutes or if doing several at a time you would bake them for 5 to 6 minutes per potato. If you are baking 10 potatoes that comes out to be an hour (I did it in shifts though), which means you might as well bake them in the oven. But if you are just using a few potatoes it will save you an hour. It also will save you from having to wash and scrub the potatoes because they come cleaned and packaged. You actual cook them while still in the packaging. It may be cheating, but I'm all about it. 


Ingredients:
10 potatoes
1.5 cups sour cream, reduced fat
2 cups skim milk
2 cups cheddar or mexican blend shredded cheese, reduced fat
2 cups mozzarella cheese, reduced fat
1 pound ground beef or ground turkey
1/2 cup taco seasoning
salt & pepper to taste


Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake potatoes for an hour to an hour and a half. 
Or follow microwave instructions if you use those type of potatoes.
Meanwhile, brown beef/turkey and season with taco seasoning. Set aside.
Let them cool and cut out the potatoes using a knife and fork (or whatever other strategy you use for mashed potatoes) away from the skin.
Do not get too close to the skin. You want them sturdy enough to hold further ingredients.
Mash the potatoes with the sour cream and milk using a mixer. Add more milk, butter, salt, etc. if desired.
Stir in cheddar cheese and taco meat. 
Season potatoes with salt & pepper.
Spoon filling into potato skins. 
Sprinkle with additional taco seasoning and mozzarella cheese
Bake in oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

Beef Taco Lasagna

This gem is from Freezer Pleasers! I made it for my mother-in-law and family for her Birthday. (I love any excuse to cook). I love tacos and I love lasagna so you know that taco lasagna is going to be a hit in this household. It turned out great. I would totally make this if I were you. Are you planning on bringing a meal over to a friend or having people over for dinner? This is the perfect dish! You'll love it!


Ingredients:
12 lasagna noodles
1 pound extra lean ground beef
1 envelope of taco seasoning or approximately 3 to 4 tablespoons
2 egg whites
1.5 cups of fat free cottage cheese
1/2 cup of fat free cream cheese (or you can use additional cottage cheese)
1 to 2 cups of reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
24 oz. of canned diced tomatoes or a jar of salsa (or some combination)


Directions:
Cook noodles according to package directions.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat.
Stir in taco seasoning.
In a small bowl, combine egg whites, cottage cheese, and cream cheese. Mix well together.
Drain noodles and separate on a wax paper, if needed.
In a lasagna pan layer 3 noodles.
Then top with 1/3 of the egg/cheese mixture.
Then top with 1/3 of the beef mixture.
Then top with 1/3 of tomatoes/salsa.
Then top with 1/3 of the shredded cheese.
Repeat with lasagna noodles, egg/cheese, beef, tomatoes/salsa, and shredded cheddar cheese. 
Repeat one more time. Top with remaining noodles.
Top with any remaining cheese or tomatoes. 
Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until heated through. Let stand for a little bit before cutting.


You can double this recipe to make two lasagna pans. I froze mine. To eat from frozen, thaw in fridge for 8 hours. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before cooking. Then cook as directed. Cook longer if needed.

What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

Poker Night Cheesy Taco Dip

Now that I'm in good standings with the library again (long story) I've been checking out cookbooks. One of them that I borrowed was Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes - Family Favorites. This recipe was inspired by one of the recipes I found in the dip section. Gerald had the guys over to cook meat in the smoker all day (who says guys can't cook!?!?) and watch football. I decided to hide in the kitchen all evening to avoid all the testosterone. They had ribs and chicken cordon bleu wrapped in bacon. They were showing off all their creations to me and when it was ready to eat they just went to town and devoured it all. It was comical it reminded me a little bit of the epic meat videos I had seen on youtube. The chicken cordon bleu is below, isn't it a beauty? I can't take credit for it, it was all my husband and his friends. 



I wanted to cook something that complimented the meat. Literally, that's all they had...meat. No side dishes, no salad, no starch, no veggies. Just meat. So I attempted to make salad & cornbread, but got distracted. I just made this dip instead to make sure they had all 4 food groups covered. I modified it based on what I had in the kitchen and it turned out to be a delicious, creamy, cheesy, tasty, masterpiece. Oh and despite the name, we did not play any poker that night. 


Ingredients:
1/2 pound of extra lean ground beef
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
1/2 cup shredded mexican cheese (Sargento was buy one, get one free this week)
1 can of fat free refried beans
1 package of taco seasoning (or maybe just 3/4 of the package)
4 oz of reduced fat cream cheese
1 triangle slice of laughing cow light cheese (i used this instead of cream cheese, you can just use additional ounces of cream cheese)
1/2 cup of onions
green chilies, diced
1 or 2 bag of Fritos Scoops



Directions:
Turn slow cooker on low.
Cook the ground beef and brown. Mash up the ground beef into really small pieces (see picture)
Mix sour cream, taco seasoning, cheese, & beans in a medium sized small cooker and stir together.
Stir in beef, onions &, chilies.
Then add cream cheese & laughing cow cheese, cut them into chunks first. They won't be mixed in right away, wait until they melt a little bit.
Cook on low for 2 to 3 hours. The cheeses will start to melt and you can stir and mix everything together 2 or 3 times while cooking.
Serve warm when everything is melted with fritos. 


I didn't get any good pictures, here is the dip after we started eating it. As you can see we ran out of fritos, so we switched over to doritos. The dip was a hit!

What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

Beef Taco Penne Bake

I was suppose to make beef taco lasagna (from my Freezer Pleasers book) but realized I only had 4 lasagna noodles (I needed 24). So i bagged the lasagna idea and went with another type of taco pasta dish. This makes 2 casserole dishes. One to eat now & one to freeze later! :-) I froze both because i have an awesome new freezer!!!!!!!!!!


So last night I used one of the dishes for dinner. If freezing, defrost in fridge for 8 hours. I put it in the fridge before I left for work and took it out when I got home, probably was more than 8 hours, but that was fine. Then take out of fridge and preheat oven to 350. Bake in oven for 30 to 40 minutes. Mine came out a little dry, so you may want to think about adding a little bit of water when it's in the oven. Or you can add more sauce & cheese to the original recipe, maybe diced tomatoes as well.


Ingredients:

Casserole, before it goes in the oven.

1 box of whole wheat penne pasta
1 lb of extra lean ground beef
3 tablespoons of taco seasoning
4 egg whites
2 cups of fat free cottage cheese
1 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
2 cans of diced tomatoes or salsa


Directions:
Cook pasta according to box directions
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink.
Stir in taco seasoning & tomatoes. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Cheesy, yummy goodness.

In a small bowl, combine egg whites & cottage cheese.
Drain noodles and pour into two casserole dishes.
Pour in cottage cheese mixture, then beef mixture.
Top with shredded cheese.
Cover & freeze or cook now.


To eat now: Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.
To eat later: Thaw in fridge for 8 hours. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before baking. Cook in oven as above.

I would love to know that you visited my blog or tried out a recipe. Leave me some love & encouragement!

Taco Soup

Taco Soup has become one of my new favorite recipes. It's a perfect large group slow cooker meal. I made this past weekend for my small group. This is a non-spicy version, feel free to make it spicy by adding the appropriate ingredients. 


The picture was taken from an iPhone and it doesn't do it justice because this is before you add the sour cream, cheese, & chips.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound extra lean ground beef
• 1 package of taco seasoning
• 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed or diced tomatoes
• 1 can enchilada sauce
• 3 green onion, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cans fat free chicken broth (or 1 can of broth, 1 can of water)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of bay leaf seasoning
• 1 package frozen corn
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1 bag of fritos
• 1 bag of tostitos
• 1 can of fat free sour cream
• 2 cups of shredded mexican blend cheese

Directions

1. Place ground beef in skillet and brown.
2. Add taco seasoning and simmer for a few minutes.
3. Add ground beef, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, and onions to a large slow cooker.
4. Pour in chicken broth, season with cumin, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. 
5. Stir in corn and cilantro. 
6. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours. 
7. When ready to serve, place in large individual bowls, top with chips, cheese, & sour cream. 

I would love to know that you visited my blog or tried out a recipe. Leave me some love & encouragement!

Taco Salads

This recipe is from my mother, which she got from an article years ago and put in one of my cookbooks. I love it!


Taco salad is my all-time favorite meal. But I always eat them at restaurants, usually not at home. What I love about this recipe is it shows you how to make a real taco salad bowl out of a tortilla shell.


Ingredients:

• 8 inch tortillas (I used wheat)
• 1/2 pound lean ground beef
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 can of red kidney beans
• 1 can of corn
• 1 packet of taco seasoning
• 1 head of lettuce
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

1. Lightly brush one side of tortillas with nonstick olive oil spray (or water).
2. Spray coating into oven safe bowls and press tortillas, coated side up, into bowls.
3. Bake in 350 oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until light brown & crispy
4. Meanwhile, in a skillet brown ground beef, onion, and garlic.
5. Stir in beans, corn, taco sauce.
6. Bring to a boil, reduce heat & simmer for 10 minutes.
7. Combine lettuce, tomatoes, & cheese in a large bowl.
8. Take tortillas out of bowl. Add lettuce mixture, top with meat mixture.

Other great additions to this recipe would be avocado or guacamole, salsa, peppers, chili seasoning if you want it spicey. Other types of beans. 

I would love to know that you visited my blog or tried out a recipe. Leave me some love & encouragement!

The Taco Ring (aka Taco Bake)

This is my most favorite dish of all time. Probably because it's the first "real" dinner I've ever made when I was in college. My friend Erin taught me the recipe YEARS ago after she learned it from another friend. It's always a hit.

Ingredients:

• 2 Cans of Pillsbury Dough Biscuits (I used reduced fat Grands)
• 1 to 1.5 pounds of extra lean ground beef
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 packet of taco seasoning
• 3 - 4 cups of shredded cheese (cheddar or mexican)
• 1 can of salsa (optional)
• 1 can of sour cream (optional)

Directions:

1. Brown the ground beef in a medium sized skillet and add onions
2. Meanwhile, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees or whatever the specific biscuits instruct. Open the can of biscuits flatten each one and place in a circular shape on the bottom of a greased baking pan or dish. 
3. Top with 2 cups of cheese spread evenly among the circle.
4. Add taco seasoning to beef, let it cook for a little while, and then spread the ground beef & onions evenly among the layer of cheese.
5. Top with another layer of cheese.
6. Then use the other can of flattened biscuits to form and enclosed cover around the beef & cheese mixture. See picture.
7. Bake in oven 20 to 25 minutes (or according to biscuit directions) making sure the dough is cooked through and the biscuit turns and nice golden brown color.
8. Cut and serve as a pie or cut out each biscuit. Top with salsa & sour cream, if desired. 

Taco Dip

My friend Katie taught me this easy & delicious taco dip recipe in college. I use it ALL the time for parties and such. We were having game night at a friend's house this past weekend so I threw this together and heated it up in her oven. I then used the leftovers the next day for small group and paired it with the Taco Ring. I enjoy making it with a little kick to it. Bust out those Tostitos, it's addicting!

Sorry, this pic is after we devoured it at game night. Trust me, it's appetizing.

Ingredients:

• 2 packs of light cream cheese
• 1 packet of taco seasoning (i used a spicy one)
• 1 can of fat free refried beans
• 1 - 2 cups of shredded cheese (mexican flavor)
• 1 small can of olive slices.
• Chopped onions or tomatoes (optional)

Directions:

1. If needed, soften cream cheese in microwave safe bowl and stir in taco seasoning packet.
2. Layer square or circle pan (baking dish) with the baked beans.
3. Put cream cheese layer on top.
4. Cover with shredded cheese & top with olives, onions, & tomatoes.
5. Bake in pre-heated oven @ 300 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes or until cheese is melted.
6. Serve with chips.

Easy Taco Salad

 +  = Taco Salad!