I've learned that when you have a small child in the house and they tell you exactly what they want to eat for dinner, you make that. As long as it's within reason I guess. Ice cream and Doritos sounds like a great idea, but the implementation is a bit tricky.. So when my son came home and demanded hard shell tacos for dinner, I couldn't pass up a Taco Tuesday.
Serves 4
You'll need:
- 1 lb ground beef - I used 4 1/4 lb frozen burger patties, smashed up during cooking
- 8 taco shells (1 box, if they're not all broken..)
- 2 tbsp taco seasoning powder - I used Old El Paso Original Taco Seasoning Mix
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 bag (5.6 oz) Spanish rice mix (or Mexican, Yellow, etc)
- 1 can (15.5 oz) refried beans
Instructions:
- Over medium heat in a large lightly oiled skillet, cook the beef until browned, drain the fat
- Add the taco seasoning, stir fry for 20 seconds to wake up the spices
- Add the water and stir well to combine, simmer until thickened (1-2 min)
- Cook the rice according to the package instructions - I usually microwave
- Heat the refried beans - bonus points if you transfer the beef mixture out of the skillet and use the residual sauce and a little oil to gently heat the beans over low
- Plate up and enjoy with any of: shredded cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, taco sauce, sour cream, guacamole
This is such a simple meal I can't really call it a recipe. But I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel every meal. Sometimes you need a simple comforting Taco Tuesday. Remember the broken shells? They make great half sized tostadas. Smear on some refried beans, top with beef, cheese, lettuce, sauce. When life gives you broken taco shells you make mini tostadas I guess?