Taco Casserole Ole – Say hello to my little friend!

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Last night I had some taco meat that I wanted to finish off yet I didn’t feel like making the standard left-over recipes I typically do:  gonzo pie, chili, burritos, or taco salad.  So, I decided to go off the reservation and make something I have thought about making for a while. 

Say hello to my little friend!  Meet my  Mexican version of the Shepherd’s Pie but with a few twists.  Unfortunately, we inhaled this last night before I could get a pretty picture of it in the pan or on a plate.  This is actually a lunch today – leftovers.   So – apologies for the quality of the shot and the fact that it leaves a little something to be desired!

That said, not every idea I have for a recipe works as well on the plate or palate as I think it will in my head.  This recipe, though, will become a standard in our house.  It was delicious! 

I liked it just as much for lunch as I did for supper last night.  I may have enjoyed it a little more since the flavors were a little more pronounced in the lunch serving!  The Rotel makes this a little on the spicy side but if you like things hot, feel free to add some Cholula, which is our all-time, hands-down favorite hot sauce.  All that said, I know a recipe is a keeper when we finish the meal in a day or two.  This is definitely one of those in our family.

All you need is taco meat and some  pantry staples to have this meal on the table in 30 to 40 minutes max.

Taco Casserole Ole

• 2 to 4 C leftover Taco meat (or fresh)
• 1 can Pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can green beans, drained
• 1 can Rotel, original flavor (or whatever you have on hand)
• 1 small can green chilies, diced
• 2 C cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 pouch Idahoan Roasted Garlic mashed potatoes, prepared (or 2 to 4 cups of leftover/fresh mashed potatoes)

Preheat oven to 375.  Spray a 9×9 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray along the sides.  Set aside.

Make the instant mashed potatoes to package directions and set aside.

In a large bowl combine the taco meat, beans, Rotel, and chilies until well mixed.  Pour into prepared 9×9 pan.  Top with cheddar cheese.  Spread mashed potatoes across the top evenly.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes (or more, e.g., 40 to 45, if you want the potatoes to brown up a bit).  Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Crockpot Taco Chicken

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I don’t use my crockpots as much as I should.  I have a 1.5 quart one and a 6 quart one.  I’m always thrilled when I arrive home and dinner is all ready though so I really, really should use it more often than I do.

It’s no secret that my family love, love, love Tacos.  Shoot – our favorite supper night is Taco Tuesday!  Sometimes I like to mix things up and I do that by having a crockpot soft chicken taco night.  This is not an all-day in the crockpot recipe.  It’s ready in roughly 4 hours on low heat or 2 hours on high heat.  I love to do this for an easy-peasy lunch after Church on a Sunday.  It just can’t be simpler!

I do these with all the taco trimmings.  We like to dress these like we do our normal tacos:  shredded cheese, diced onion, diced tomato, shredded lettuce, sour cream, and lots of Cholula hot sauce.  Yum!!  We really love our soft taco lunch too!  If I have leftover rice, I stir that into the chicken mixture after I shred the chicken.  It’s great to have the chicken, beans, and rice!

Crockpot Taco Chicken

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 Tbsp dried, minced onion
• 1 can of Ro-Tel tomatoes
• 8 oz chicken broth (or water)
• 1 envelope Old El Paso taco seasonings
• soft taco tortillas
• Toppings:
• shredded cheddar
• shredded lettuce
• diced onion
• diced tomato
• sour cream
• guacamole

Put the chicken on the bottom of the crockpot.  Season with salt and pepper.  Top the chicken with the drained, rinsed black beans.  Sprinkle the dried, minced onion on top of the black beans.  Pour the Ro-Tel over the black beans.  Whisk the taco seasonings into the chicken broth and then pour over the other ingredients in the crockpot.

Cook on low for 4 hours.  Remove chicken from crockpot and shred with 2 forks.  Add the shredded chicken back into the crockpot stirring to combine and coat.  Taste for seasonings and adjust to your liking.  If you have leftover rice, stir it in and let the mixture cook for another 20 minutes.

Prepare your garnishes and set up the assembly line so your family can make their own soft tacos.  Yum!!

Hearty Healthy Taco Salad

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This is a hearty, healthy taco salad.  I use ground chicken in it but you could also use shredded or fajita chicken meat as well.  Sure, go with a very lean ground beef if you’d like.  I’ve actually done that when using up leftover taco meat!

I like to include the brown rice and black beans to boost the nutritional value of this dish.  Sometimes I include the corn while others I don’t.  My family prefers green onions to the red onion in this salad; however, I don’t always have it on hand.  I’ll use either 5 to 6 green onions thinly sliced or 1/2 a red onion, minced.

I typically cheat and use a packet of dry Taco seasonings.  You can make your own but seasoning the chicken (or beef) with 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp ground chipotle with salt and pepper. 

The family really likes the Ranch Salsa dressing.  It’s so easy to make.  I tend to pull this together first so that the flavors can meld together.

Hearty, Healthy Taco Salad

• Dressing
• 1 C Ranch dressing (or sour cream if that’s what you have)
• 1 C medium Picante Sauce (use mild if your family doesn’t like heat)
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground chipotle (leave out if you don’t want the extra heat)
• Taco Mix
• 1 lb ground chicken
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 packet taco seasonings
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp dried, minced onions
• 2 pouches Uncle Ben’s 90 second brown rice, microwaved
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed well
• Salad
• 1 C frozen petite sweet corn, thawed
• 1 bag baby romaine lettuce
• 1/2 bag baby spinach
• 6 Roma tomatoes, chopped
• 5 to 6 green onions, thinly sliced or 1/2 C minced red onion
• 2 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• Garnish
• 2 C shredded Pepper Jack Cheese
• sliced or diced black olives
• Crushed Doritoes, Fritos, or tortilla chips

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the salad dressing ingredients.  Taste for seasonings and adjust to your liking. 

In a large serving bowl, toss together the salad ingredients and set aside.

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet.  Once hot, add the ground chicken and brown.  While it’s browning, add Worcestershire sauce and dried minced onions.  Once the chicken is brown, stir in the taco seasonings and follow the directions on the packet.  Stir in the rice and black beans and heat through.  Taste for seasonings and adjust as needed.

Put the meat, bean, rice mixture on the bottom of a shallow bowl or plate.  Top with salad mixture, top with dressing, top with garnishes.  I like to toss mine together while the family prefers it layered.  I like keeping the components separate so that you can enjoy leftovers.

Taco Pasta Shells

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I typically make this recipe with leftover taco meat.  It really helps pull this dish together quickly.  While the jumbo shells are being cooked to al dente, I get the taco filling ready.  I like to cool the jumbo shells so that it’s easier to get them filled.

Since the shells and filling are completely cooked, basically the point of the time in the oven is to get everything heated through and cheese melted.  This is one of those dishes that is completely eaten usually.  I use two boxes of the jumbo shells which has about 8 per box.

If I don’t have 1 to 1 1/2 lb taco meat leftover, I’ll add a small can of refried beans or a pouch of Uncle Ben’s 90 second brown rice.  If you are feeding a lot of people, you can use this trick to be able to fill 3 to 4 boxes of Jumbo shells.

Sometimes I top this with the left over taco toppings or a salad.  Add some sour cream and guacamole and you’ve got a well-rounded meal with protein, veggies, and carbs.

Taco Pasta Shells

• 2 boxes Jumbo shells, cooked al dente to package directions and cooled
• 1 to 1 1/2 lb leftover taco seasoned meat
• 1 small onion, grated or minced
• 8 oz bottle of Ortega or Taco Bell Taco Sauce
• 2 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 bottle Pace Picante sauce
• Garnishes
• Lettuce, chopped
• Roma Tomatoes, chopped
• Onion, diced
• Sliced, Pickled Jalapenos
• Sour Cream
• Guacamole
• Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 375.  Spray a 9×13 pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Put the shells side by side in the pan.

In a large saucepan, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil.  Once hot, add the onions and cook for 5 to 7 minutes.  Add the taco meat and sauce stirring to combine.  Add 1 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese.

Stuff each shell with the taco meat mixture.  I typically over stuff these.  Spoon Picante sauce over each  Top with shredded cheddar cheese.

Bake at 375 for 20 to 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and it’s all heated through.

Garnish as desired.

Taco Calzone

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This is a twist on my Gonzo Pie which is one of our favorite ways to follow up on a Taco night!

You can certainly use the Gonzo Pie filling as the calzone filling and it would be great.  I thought though that it would be good to boost the nutritional value by using black beans instead of refried beans.  You can certainly make this vegetarian as well by leaving out the taco meat.

One thing I also love with this recipe is that you can easily have a Fajita Calzone by substituting Fajita chicken or steak with the veggies.  Shoot – I’ve thought about getting fajitas from a local restaurant to come home and make Fajita calzones!  Yeah, I’m lazy … no doubt!!

Another way to change up the flavor on this guy, use pie crust instead of pizza dough – Yum!!!  No matter which dough I use or whether it’s a taco or fajita – I love to top them with hot sauce, lettuce, tomato, onion, and sour cream.  It’s fantastic!  The kids don’t mind getting their veggies this way either.  Coolio!!

Taco Calzone

• 1 roll Pillsbury pizza dough or 1 package Pillsbury 2 piece pie crust
• 1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
• Left over taco meat or left over Fajita meat and veggies – chopped smaller
• 2 C picante sauce
• 4 C shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 egg, whipped
• 3 Tbsp milk or whatever you use in your coffee
• Garnish
• lettuce
• tomato
• onion
• sour cream
• avocado
• shredded cheese
• hot sauce

Preheat oven to 400.  Spray a rimmed cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray. In a small bowl, whisk together 1 egg and milk to make an egg wash.

Open dough and get four pieces out of whichever you are using.  If using the pizza dough, roll the dough pieces out to a circle. Put dough on the cookie sheet.

Mix together the picante sauce, taco or fajita meat & veggies, and cheese.  Taste for seasonings and adjust as you’d like – add more onion, peppers, whatever you are using.  You don’t want this to be too saucy, just FYI.

Divide the mixture between the 4 pieces of dough on 1/2 of the dough.  Use the egg wash to seal the dough and fold over crimping the edges with a fork.  Brush egg wash on the top of each calzone.  Cut steam holes on the left and right of center.

Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until calzones are golden brown.  Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.  Let folks garnish as they’d like.