Taco Bake

Good Morning Foodies! I hope this finds you having a good start to the week! You have already made it to the half way point! I have a little something for you today. We all know how much I love Mexican food and in the days before moving day I made some awesome Taco Bites. If you don’t remember them, you can find them here. The taco bites were amazing. Looking back on those days I wish that I would have made many more of those little bite sized tacos; I did have a bunch of taco meat left over. However, I put the extra meat to good use. Are you ready to know what I did with the leftover meat? I made a Taco Bake with it.

Have any of you ever had Taco Bake? Well, it is like eating tacos in layers. I started blogging back in October. Before that we were eating out a lot, but we were also eating Taco Bake from a box; all I had to do was cook the taco meat. That is the honest truth. This foodie was eating Taco Bake every few days during our moving process. As a result, that simple meal holds a special place in my heart. Because it is so easy to make [with or without a box] I decided to end our journey to the better part of Mexico the way we started it – by eating Taco Bake!

Let’s get started. Here is what you will need:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 pounds ground beef, cooked
• Jalapeno, fine dice
• ½ medium onion, fine dice
• 1 ½ teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic
• 1 packet Hot Taco Seasoning
• 1 packet Reduced Sodium Taco Seasoning
• 1 jar Taco Sauce
• 1 can Tomatoes with Green Chilies, diced
• 6 to 8 corn Tortilla Shells
• 2 to 3 cups Cheese, shredded

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
• In a large frying pan, heat oil over medium – high heat
• Add ground beef and cook thoroughly, about 10 to 15 minutes
• Drain the ground beef
• In the same frying pan add the vegetables and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes
• Once vegetables are cooked, add remaining ingredients [not the cheese], including the ground beef and let simmer over medium heat for at least 20 minutes
• Lightly grease a round cake pan
• Add two corn tortillas to the bottom of the cake pan, add enough meat to cover the tortillas, add as much cheese as you like [and lettuce, tomato if you’d like]

• Repeat the process for a couple of more layers

• Add to the oven and bake for 30 minutes
• Remove from oven and allow to cool
• Now it is time to eat!

This meal was simple, easy and very tasty! I hope you all give this a try, especially if you are pinched for time one evening! This is a great go-to meal when you’re staying late at work!

Until Next Time,

Happy Taco Bakin’

Comments

[Elizabeth McKenzie]

Mel, I love Mexican food too! This looks delish. Now instead of eating the taco bake from a box, we can have this! :) Thanks!

[MIndy]

That looks great! I love anything Mexician---I mean food---oh and the pottery---and the jewelry is great too.....LOL!!
Hope your trip is going well!!

[Chris "Kickstart" Beason]

Looks good! I can see putting some shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes and sour cream on top!