Cheesy Chile Rice and Semi-Homemade Turkey Tacos

I made cheesy chile rice and turkey taco's last night. The rice was much easier to make, in my own opinion. The taco's were relatively easy until I began frying the shells. I may have had a difficult time because it was my first time making taco's this way. It was worth the effort, that's for sure. The taco shells were perfectly crisp [not like the boxed shells]. The only real complaint is with regard to the slightly too much oil on the shells after the frying. I'm not sure how to fix that - maybe just putting a paper towel on the baking sheet and soaking it up?

Lets get down to it. Here are the directions/ingredients for the chile rice:

• mix 2 cups cooked rice, 1/2 cup chopped scallions, a 4-ounce can chopped green chiles (drained), 1 1/2 cups shredded mexican cheese [or whatever cheese you like best], salt and cayenne to taste
• Butter a casserole dish and sprinkle with Parmesan
• spread the rice mixture in the dish, sprinkle with more parmesan and dot with butter
• bake 20 minutes at 450 degrees

 Now onto the tacos.  

Ingredients:

• canola oil, for sauteing
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 (1 pound) package ground turkey meat
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• kosher salt and ground pepper
• 8 corn tortillas
• 1 (8 ounce) package shredded mexican cheese
• lettuce
• roma tomatoes, diced
• and whatever else you like on tacos -- sour cream, guacamole, etc

 Directions:

• In a deep saute pan over medium-high heat, add enough oil to completely coat the bottom of the pan
• when the oil is hot, add the onion and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes

• add the ground turkey and season with cumin, salt and pepper
• cook until the turkey browns and is cooked through

• remove the turkey mixture from the pan and wipe the pan
• divide the turkey mixture among the tortillas and fold in half
•  add more oil to the pan and then brown both sides of the filled tortilla, in batches

•  After all of the taco's are complete, dress up [or down] your taco the way you like it!! I like my taco's with only cheese and sometimes lettuce. I don't need the rest of the vegetables; I'd rather eat the really good stuff... as you can see in the pictures below. The one on the left is my plate - notice no lettuce, sour cream or tomatoes. :)

 Like I mentioned above, this was a relatively easy meal that was a great surprise in taste and experiment. I like making tacos this way, rather than buying the pre-made, boxed taco shells! The ground turkey was another great surprise because I'm not a huge fan of it... great for tacos - very flavorful!!

Until next time, happy cooking!!