Taco Chicken Bowl

It is taco flavored and cooks in the crockpot. It is bound to be a favorite!

INGREDIENTS:

1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast

16 oz jar salsa (whichever hotness you prefer)

15 oz can black beans, drained

8 oz frozen corn

1 Tablespoon chili powder

1/2 Tablespoon ground cumin

1/2 Tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Salt and Pepper to taste

green onions (optional)

8 oz shredded cheddar 

Rice (brown or white, approximately 6 servings)

DIRECTIONS:

Place chicken breast (can still be frozen), salsa, beans, corn, and seasonings into crockpot.

Mix together, making sure chicken is mostly covered. Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours.

By the time it is ready, the chicken will be super tender. Stir everything in the crockpot and the chicken should shred/fall apart easily.

Cook the rice (we used Minute Rice).

Scoop cooked rice into the bowl, topped with the chicken mixture, cheese, and green onions. Enjoy!

Crunchy Black Bean Tacos

These are small, but very filling!

INGREDIENTS:

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup red onion,minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

6 oz shredded pepper jack cheese

Olive Oil

8 6-inch corn tortillas

Desired toppings (sour cream, pepperoncinis, hot sauce, etc)

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium bowl, mix together the beans, onion, cumin, and paprika.

Heat a couple Tablespoons of olive oil in skillet on medium-high.

Place a tortilla in skillet. Heat 5-10 seconds. Add about 1/4 cup of bean mixture, then top with cheese. Using a spatula, fold tortilla over so it forms a shell.

Cook a few minutes, until crispy. Flip (toward the fold so filling stays in), cooking the other side for a few minutes.

Serve with desired toppings.

Adapted from HERE

Taco Cupcakes

More taco stuff. This time, in cupcake form! Who can resist? :)
I made them in a regular size muffin tin, but decided to make a few in a mini-muffin tin as well. The little ones tasted just as great and were easier for the kids to eat. They would also be good for a potluck, one batch would make quite a few.

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb ground beef
2 Tbs taco seasoning
15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
Wonton wrappers (2 per cupcake for the large ones, 1 per mini. I think I used around 24).
Queso (amount used is up to you)
Chunky Salsa
1-2 cups shredded Mexi-blend cheese
sour cream for topping

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly spray muffin tin with non-stick spray.
Brown ground beef in skillet. Drain. Add taco seasoning and black beans, heat a couple minutes until hot throughout.
Place a wonton wrapper into each cup on the muffin tin. Place a dollop of queso on each one.

Top with meat mixture (about 2 Tablespoons worth), a little bit of salsa, and a sprinkle of cheese. It should fill each cup roughly halfway.

 Place another wonton wrapper in each cup, pushing down to sort of seal everything together. Repeat the filling process.
Bake 18-20 minutes, until golden brown.

Let sit for about 5 minutes before removing from pan. Top with sour cream and enjoy!!

Here are the mini ones with no sour cream (my kids refuse to eat sour cream!). Just one layer, but still delicious!

adapted from here

Tato Taco Casserole

We may have an obsession with taco flavored things. But they are always so yummy!!

INGREDIENTS:
Crust:
1.5 cups mashed potato flakes
8 oz sour cream
2/3 cup water
Filling:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup taco sauce
2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar or mexi-blend, both are good!)
Topping:
1.5 cups shredded lettuce
1 large tomato, diced
Tortilla chips, slightly crushed

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Combine crust ingredients in medium bowl. Press into 8x8 dish. Bake for about 25 minutes, until edges start to brown.

Meanwhile, brown ground beef in skillet. Drain. Stir in taco sauce, heat through. Add cheese and mix well. Spread evenly over baked crust.
Top with lettuce, tomato, and tortilla chips. Enjoy!

Taco Rice

One of my favorite discoveries in Okinawa is Taco Rice. While it sounds like it would be a Mexican dish, it is actually a Japanese dish that is very popular here in Okinawa.  Delicious!

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb ground beef
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pack taco seasoning
1/2 cup water
6 servings rice (I use brown Minute Rice)
2 cups shredded cheddar
lettuce, cut into bit sized pieces
tomato, diced
salsa
sour cream


DIRECTIONS:
Stir fry ground beef in vegetable oil. Drain.
Cook rice according to package directions.
Add taco mix and water. Heat over low until water is evaporated. Mix in about 1 cup of shredded cheese and let melt over low heat.
Put meat mixture on top of rice. Top with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa and sour cream. 

Taco Bread

This stuff is good! And the best part about it is that it's good fresh out of the oven, at room temperature, cold from the fridge, or reheated in the microwave! My favorite is reheated and Matt's is cold....but we usually end up eating most all of it as soon as its out of the oven.

The recipe calls for French bread, but I had to use Italian this time thanks to the awesome commissary here ;)

INGREDIENTS:
1 loaf french bread
8 oz cream cheese
1 lb ground beef
1 pack taco seasoning
2 cups shredded cheese (I have used cheddar and mexi-blend, both are good)

DIRECTIONS:
Cut loaf of bread in half. Scoop out the bread on one half (I never manage to cut it in half, so I usually scoop the bigger side).  Spread cream cheese on the bread.

Brown the burger. Add taco seasoning (no water) and mix until burger is evenly coated. Add about 1/2 cup of cheese, stirring until melted.
Spoon meat onto the bread. Top with remaining cheese.

Put top piece of bread on. Wrap in foil. Bake @350 for 35 minutes, or til heated through.

Toastachos

I pretty much feel like these are beef tostadas, but I got them from Rachel Ray's website and she called them toastachos, so that's what I am going with.

These are quick to make but have a lot of little steps. I suggest having everything pre-measured and ready to go before starting. I suppose that is probably a good idea for any recipe haha but I usually do my chopping and such while doing other things like browning the meat.

Matt called his the "man-nacho" because of how much he piled on it :) 

Mine, minus the sour cream. I totally forgot about it until after I took the picture.

INGREDIENTS:
Corn or vegetable oil, for frying
6 (6 inch) corn tortillas
Salt and pepper
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion, finely chopped, divided
2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and finely chopped, divided
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup beef stock
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon flour
2/3 cup milk
1 1/2 cups mexi-blend cheese (plus more for topping if desired)
Pickled jalapeño slices
Sour cream, if desired

DIRECTIONS:
Fry the tortillas one at a time in oil over medium-high heat until golden and crisp. Season with salt.
In a skillet, heat a drizzle of oil over medium-high heat. Add the beef and brown for about 5 minutes. Add half  of the onion and half of the jalapeño peppers. Add the garlic, chili powder, and cumin; season with salt and pepper. Cook about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste for 1 minute. Add the beef stock and lower the heat to a simmer.
In a small bowl, combine the tomatoes with the remaining onion and jalapeño. Season the salsa with salt.
Heat the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and cook to thicken, about 2 minutes. Stir in the cheese to melt.
Cover each tortilla with the meat and cheese sauce, then top with salsa, pickled jalapeños, sour cream, and shredded cheese. 

Taco Meatloaf

I hate meatloaf. I refuse to eat it and therefore refused to make it. I noticed a recipe for taco meatloaf on pinterest, however, and I was curious. Since it sounded good, and Matt likes meatloaf, I figured I would give it a try. I am so glad I did, it is delicious! It tastes pretty much like a taco (and nothing like meatloaf!) but without the crunch of a taco. Try it!

(Update: turns out I don't hate all meat loaf. HERE is another good meatloaf recipe!)

INGREDIENTS:
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream (plus more for serving, optional)
1/3 cup salsa (plus more for serving, optional)
1 pack Taco seasoning
1 cup crushed Taco flavored Doritos
1.5 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
2 lb ground beef
shredded lettuce (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
Mix the egg, sour cream, salsa, seasoning, doritos, and 1/2 cup of the cheese. Add ground beef and mix.
Shape into loaf in baking dish. Bake @350F for about 60 minutes (or longer if meat isn't done).
Top with remaining cheese. Cover loosely with foil to help cheese melt.


Recipe was adapted from HERE

Taco Soup (or maybe Taco Stew...)

We call this Taco Soup, but its not exactly soup-y. It is thicker, like a stew, but not technically a stew because it only takes 15ish minutes to make. Matt pretty much eats it as a dip, so in that case it isn't really a soup or a stew. I may not know what it is exactly, but I do know it is delicious!

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can of corn (do not drain)
2 cans of kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can stewed tomatoes (do not drain)
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 packet of chili seasoning
1 packet dry ranch dressing mix
Water (optional)
Fritos or tortilla chips
shredded cheese and/or sour cream for topping

DIRECTIONS:
In a skillet, brown the ground beef with the chopped onion.
While browning, mix remaining ingredients in 3qt (or larger, if you want it thinner) saucepan and cook over medium heat. Add the meat and onions when done. Simmer til heated through.
Add water if you want it more soup-like. 
Serve with desired toppings.

NOTES:
I use fritos because it is like a taco shell. I mix them in, along with shredded cheese (usually the Mexican blend). Matt prefers to top with cheese and sour cream, then scoop up with tortilla chips. Both are good, its just a matter of preference!

Taco Salad

This was one of the first meals Matt and I made together. It's really quick and easy (15 minutes, tops), but cooking is always more fun with someone else in the kitchen! Delicious on a hot day! Or a cold one haha, but I always think of it as a summer food.

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup taco sauce
6 cups bite-sized lettuce
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into strips
2 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 small can black olives, drained
1.5 cups shredded cheddar
Fritos
Thousand Island Dressing

DIRECTIONS:
Brown Beef. Drain. Stir in taco sauce. Cook 2-3 minutes.
Toss lettuce, bell pepper, tomatoes, olives, and cheese in a large bowl.
Spoon hot beef mixture over lettuce mixture. Toss.
Serve with dressing and Fritos.

NOTES:
Fritos and Dressing can be mixed into the salad, but stuff will get soggy if they sit for long. We like it better to just put some on the salad after dishing up.