Last night on the way home from errand-running, the boyfriend and I decided that we really didn’t have anything to eat for dinner. There’s Randalls–pull over. We call the boyfriend’s mother who quickly describes what ingredients go into her infamous TACO BAKE. Let me tell you… I was lucky enough to have tasted (and devoured) taco bake on one previous occasion at the boyfriend’s parent’s home and ever since that amazing meal, my heart (and tummy) have been yearning for it daily around six- or seven-o’clock. So clearly, it was time to take a stab at making taco bake in my kitchen.
We hurriedly went from aisle to aisle grabbing the necessary ingredients: tortillas, salsa, meat, cheese, onion and diced tomatoes with jalapenos then head to the checkout line. While unloading the groceries at home, the boyfriend says, “Corn? You bought corn?” I replied, “You said I was supposed to get corn…” Boyfriend, “Well, I was referring to the tortillas. We were supposed to get corn tortillas.” (Of course, I only have flour tortillas.) Then we realize the recipe calls for milk and do we have milk? Boyfriend sees soy milk in the fridge and says, “SOY MILK!” to which I quickly reply, “Absolutely not. It’s vanilla flavored.” And here’s when our taco bake improvisation began…
(This recipe serves 4-6 people.)
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs. ground beef
- 2 bushels of chives (chopped)
- 1.5 cups of cheese (Mexican style or cheddar)
- 4 flour tortillas (torn into 1″ pieces)
- 1 large can of whole kernel corn
- 2 medium-large cans of diced tomatoes (with jalapenos if you want it spicy)
- Chili powder, salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Brown the meat in a large skillet. After browned, drain oil and fat.
- Add in chives, half of the cheese, tortilla pieces, corn, tomatoes and seasoning.
- Combine everything together in the skillet until cheese starts to melt.
- Place half of mixture in large oven-safe glassware (Pyrex) and cover lightly with cheese.
- Place second half of mixture on top and sprinkle with cheese.
- Bake at 400° for 30 minutes.
Here’s the finished product:
As you can probably tell, the end result not only looked and smelled delicious but it warmed our bellies and was the perfect meal for this wintery weather. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
Happy cooking and eating!
- L
* If this recipe does not fit into your current diet plan or puts you over your allotted daily calories, oops.
