Healthy meal of the week: Hard shell tacos with Spanish rice
Healthy Leftover Idea: mexican pizza
Here’s an easy-to-make meal your family, and especially the kids, will love: hard-shell tacos. What makes these portable treats so special is that you can literally add whatever toppings you prefer. What you would like to put on your tacos, your partner or your children may like something completely different. Also, if you haven’t had a chance to try a Mexican pizza before, hold onto your socks because these little guys taste great!
Necessary equipment
– 2 pots with lids
– 1 frying pan
– 1 baking sheet
preparation time
– 10 minutes
Time to cook
– 20 minutes
Ingredients
(4-6 servings)
– 2 pounds of lean ground beef
– 1 coupon
– 1 8 oz. tomato sauce can
– 1 16 oz. refried beans
– 1 tomato
– 1 white onion
– 1 head of lettuce
– 1 tablespoon. minced garlic
– 1 cube of chicken broth
– grated cheese of your choice
– sauce of your choice
– olive oil (or any other type you have on hand)
– seasonings: salt, pepper and 2 bay leaves (optional)
for mexican pizzas
– Flour tortillas
– 1 10 oz. can of red enchilada sauce
Addresses
one. Since rice will take longer to cook, let’s start there. On medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil to your pan/rice cooker and then to the cup of rice. Let brown, stirring occasionally for a couple of minutes. Add the entire can of tomato sauce and stir well. Finally add 1 1/2 cups of hot water, two bay leaves and a chicken bouillon cube and bring to a boil stirring frequently to help dissolve the cube. Once it boils, reduce the heat to low and cover with the lid. Set the timer for 20 minutes.
2. Next, open the package of lean ground beef and place it in a skillet over medium heat. Dice 1/4 of the onion and add it to the meat along with 1 tablespoon minced garlic with a pinch of seasoned salt and pepper. You can always mince the garlic using a food processor saving you money and it is fresher. Mix well with a wooden spoon or plastic spatula making sure to cut the meat into very small pieces. Cook well until desired wellness is reached (about 10 to 14 minutes).
3. For the refried beans, all it takes is opening the can and putting the contents in a small pot over medium/low heat. You can add 1/4 cup of milk or some hot sauce like Tapatío to spice them up and make the beans a little more “watery”. Cover and stir every few minutes for a total of 12-15 minutes.
Four. Once you have everything on the stove cooking you can chop and chop the lettuce, the rest of the onion, the tomato and have the grated cheese ready. This way, once the food has finished cooking, you have your taco-making assembly line ready.
5. Carefully remove items from the stove and have serving spoons ready. Take a hard shell taco and first put a tablespoon or two of refried beans on it. Then add a tablespoon or two of lean ground beef. Use the spoon to carefully push the meat down into the beans so you have more room to place your other items of choice.
6. As you can see in this sample meal, only lettuce, onions, tomatoes, cheese, and a bit of Tapatío hot sauce were used, but you can use whatever toppings you like. Olives, jalapenos, pepperchini, and green peppers are just a few of the other possibilities you can consider when making tacos at home.
7. Two hard shell tacos along with a serving of Spanish rice and a large glass of water will bring this delicious meal to only around 500 calories total. Enjoy!
Healthy Leftovers Idea: Mexican Pizzas
If you’ve ever had a Mexican pizza from Taco Bell, you already know how delicious it tastes, so why not make one for yourself since you have more than half the ingredients prepared? All you will need are flour tortillas and a small can of red enchilada sauce.
Add a little oil to a skillet over medium heat. Place a flour tortilla and let brown for 45 seconds to a minute. Use flip flops to flip to the other side then remove from heat and place the tortilla on a paper towel to help absorb any residual oil. Repeat for the other tortilla. On a baking sheet, place one of the tortillas and spread a thin layer of refried beans all over the top then spread on some cooked lean ground beef. Top with the other tortilla, then spread a few tablespoons of the red enchilada sauce on top. Sprinkle shredded cheese along with some diced tomatoes and any other toppings you’d like to add. Place the baking sheet in the oven to broil. It should only take about 4-5 minutes for the cheese to melt. Remove carefully and cut into quarters.
