Taco lasagna

This is a sponsored post by Challenge Butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

Tacos are the best. First of all, they’re delicious (that’s a given), and secondly, there’s an infinite variety of tacos. Every part of the taco is customizable: the shell, the meat, the veggies, the sauce, the cheese, etc.

That being said, the way you eat tacos should also be customizable. A lot of people love finger foods, but sometimes it’s more convenient (and less messy) to eat with a knife and fork.

So for Taco Tuesday, I decided to make taco lasagna! Taco lasagna combines all of the flavors of tacos into a comforting casserole.

Taco lasagna reheats well, freezes well, and it’s great to pack for lunch.

The recipe below is my favorite combination of tortillas, salsa, and meat, but just like regular tacos, you can customize it however you please.

And if you’re like me and ask, “Can I make this in the slow cooker?” about everything, I have good news for you! You can absolutely cook it in the slow cooker! Just remember that you still have to brown and drain you meat before assembling it.

You’ll notice in this recipe that I added cream cheese. The cream cheese prevents the taco lasagna from getting soupy while it is cooking. Challenge Dairy actually makes salsa-flavored cream cheese that is perfect for this dish! It blends really well and adds an extra depth of flavor.

Taco Lasagna

Yield: Makes about 10 servings

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 pounds ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 cups salsa
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 4 ounces Challenge cream cheese
• 1 (1 ounce) envelope taco seasoning
• 6 (10 inch) tortillas
• 3 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
2. In large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute longer. Drain beef mixture.
3. Return beef to skillet and stir in salsa, beans, cream cheese, and taco seasoning; continue to stir over medium heat until cream cheese has melted into mixture.
4. Place two tortillas in a greased 13x9-inch baking dish.
5. Spread 1 1/2cup meat mixture over tortillas and sprinkle 1 cup cheese on top.
6. Repeat layer two more times.
7. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Cheese on top should be completely melted.
8. Let stand for 10 minutes and serve.
9. Dish stays good in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

*Note: You can also make dish in slow cooker by cooking on low for 2 to 4 hours.

Recipe loosely adapted from Taste of Home

Beef Taco Cups

Happy Cinco de Mayo! And happy birthday, Dad!

Today I’m celebrating with these cute little beef taco cups.  These would make a great appetizer for a party or you can eat them as an entrée for dinner.

I used wonton wrappers for the shell because they’re easy to work with and they fit perfectly in a muffin tin.  You can typically find the wonton wrappers in the tofu section at your local grocery store. And then I layered refried beans, seasoned beef, and cheese. Yum!

After baking them, I added my favorite toppings – cilantro, onion, tomato, and sour cream! Just like a regular taco, you can customize them any which way you please.

Beef Taco Cups

Yield: Makes about 24 appetizer cups

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
• 3/4 cup water
• 36 wonton wrappers
• 1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
• 2 cups shredded cheese

 Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Brown beef in skillet; drain the fat. Add the taco seasoning mix and water, and simmer for about 5 minutes. Set aside.
3. Place one wonton wrapper in the bottom of each muffin cup.
4. Layer 1 Tablespoon of refried beans on top of each wonton. Top with 1 Tablespoon of beef and 1 Tablespoon of shredded cheese.
5. Layer a wonton wrapper on top of the shredded cheese and add another layer of beef and cheese.
6. Bake for about 12 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Remove from tin and top with your favorite taco toppings (i.e. sour cream, diced tomatoes, onion, or cilantro).

Recipe adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything

3-INGREDIENT CROCK POT BEEF TACO MEAT

I want to preface this blog post recipe by saying EVERYONE should own a crock pot! I don’t care what your cooking skill level is; crock pots are one of the single most useful kitchen appliances out there.

Why?

1.      Anyone can use it; if you can put ingredients into a bowl you’re already a crock pot master

2.      You come home to an already-prepared home-cooked meal

3.      There’s only one dish to clean (or there’s no cleaning if you use a crock pot liner)

As of lately, I've been trying to come up with recipes that have five ingredients or less as part of my Bachelor Series (more info on why I started that here). So I had the idea of making ground beef taco meat. Taco meat is great because of its versatility – serve it with tortillas as a taco, over lettuce as a salad, or even with eggs in an omelet. And of course, what better way to make it than in a crock pot – slow-cooked in seasonings for hours until it’s exploding with flavor!

And of course, I stayed true to my goal of five ingredients or less. All you need for this recipe is ground beef, taco seasoning, and salsa. I know most cooking blogs frown upon using pre-packaged taco seasoning, but it serves its purpose well in this recipe (it’s quick, easy, and cheap).

Additionally, you could make this same recipe and substitute chicken, pork or even turkey for the ground beef! 

3-INGREDIENT CROCK POT BEEF TACO MEAT

Yield: Makes about 6 (2.5 ounce) tacos

Calories: 148 calories

Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS

·      1 pound 95% lean ground beef

·      1 (1.25 ounce) taco seasoning packet

·      2 cups salsa

·      Tortillas, lettuce, cheese, salsa, pico de gallo, guacamole, avocado, or any other additions you may want to serve with the meat

DIRECTIONS

1.     Place ground beef in crock pot

2.     Pour taco seasoning on top of ground beef

3.     Pour salsa on top of ground beef

4.     Mix it up with a spoon, breaking the ground beef up into smaller chunks

5.     Turn the crock pot on low and cook meat for about 4 hours, may need more or less time depending on your crock pot model / amount of ground beef

Mix taco seasoning, salsa, and ground beef together in crock pot - breaking it up into smaller chunks

TIP: If you use a crock pot liner there is literally NO clean up! Just remove the liner and throw it away!

My favorite way to serve the taco meat is on corn tortillas with pico de gallo and avocado.

Serve the meat with guacamole and brown rice! Both are very healthy options and make for a meal rich in whole grains and healthy fats