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Monday, September 03, 2007

Beef Taco Bake

The latest issue of Cook's Country had this recipe for Beef Taco Bake in the quick meals section. As soon as SP saw it he requested that I make it, so we had it for dinner tonight.


I was more than a little skeptical of the recipe but it actually tasted really good. And it was pretty easy to make, although my version took a little longer because I made my own taco seasoning instead of buying a package of the premixed stuff the recipe called for. The assembly is a bit strange, though. As you can kind of see here:


... the bottom of the casserole dish is layered with a mixture of Ro-Tel tomatoes, a can of refried beans, hot sauce and cilantro. The beef mixture is cooked and spooned into the taco shells along with some cheddar cheese. The tacos are then placed in the refried bean mixture, which is supposed to anchor them in the dish while it's baked. The only problem is the recipe doesn't indicate how you're supposed to serve or eat them, so I just spooned them onto the plate and we ate them with a fork and knife. The bottom of the shells disintegrated in the refried bean mixture, but the tops stayed nice and crispy.

8 comments:

  1. I am really not a big fan of mooshy tacos, they have to be crispy! It looks nice though - I'd probably spoon the mixture in right at the end (although that probably just means I'd be making NORMAL tacos instead of this recipe! lol)

    We haven't had nachos or tacos for a while, I think we're way overdue and this post of yours is just what I needed to kick myself in the butt and get making some! :D

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  2. Katie - lol! I definitely thought of making this without doing the whole baking with the beans part but then it would just be normal tacos with refried beans. :) SP told me not to futz with it, so I'll be nice and let him have this one.

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  3. Mmmm, that looks delish, especially the glob of sour cream on top :))) But the real question is -- how do you concoct your own taco seasoning???

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  4. I am loving this. Do you have the recipe??? Mmm, tacos.

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  5. JoJo - Awhile back I found a recipe online for taco salad and I started using the seasoning recipe whenever I made tacos. It couldn't be simpler - Cook some ground beef and chopped onion in a skillet until the beef is no longer pink. Add 2 teaspoons cumin, 2 teaspoons chili powder, 1 clove of minced garlic, salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons tomato paste to the beef mixture and cook for maybe 3 minutes. Adjust the seasonings to taste.

    C Laz - It was mighty tasty! Here's the recipe to the best of my memory:

    2 cans of Ro-Tel tomatoes (drained, 1/2 cup of juice reserved)
    1 can refried beans
    1 tablespoon hot sauce
    1/4 cup chopped cilantro
    3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
    12 taco shells
    1 pound ground beef
    1 packet taco seasoning mix (or see my recipe above)

    Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Mix 1 can tomatoes, refried beans, hot sauce and cilantro in a bowl. Spread evenly over bottom of 9 x 13 baking dish. Top with one cup of cheese.

    Cook ground beef in a skillet until no longer pink. Drain off any fat and add taco seasoning. Fill each taco shell with some cheese and beef. Place in bean mixture so standing upright. Once all shells are filled cover the pan with tinfoil and bake for 10 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes. Serve with sour cream.

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  6. Shoot. I forgot a step in the recipe. Once the beef is cooked, add the other can of tomatoes and the reserved juice and cook until the sauce thickens.

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  7. thank you!! I'll use that next time instead of packaged. though as for this recipe, while it would be tasty, I don't know about the bottoms disintegrating thing.

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  8. alosha - Yeah...the bottoms getting soggy wasn't all that great, especially when I reheated the leftovers for lunch the next day and everything was a soggy mess. It still tasted good, but the texture was all wrong.

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