Baked Tacos

 My family LOVED these the first time I made them and asked for seconds and thirds.  The second time the kids were all content with one.  Such is the case of cooking for kids.  Brett and I really enjoyed them both times.  As we trend meatless, I substituted cooked lentils for the ground beef in this recipe.  It was delicious!  I found the recipe here.

Delicious Baked Tacos include crunchy tortilla shells filled with a seasoned meat and bean taco filling, topped with cheese and then baked.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Total Time35 mins

Servings: 20 tacos

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef (or ground turkey) (or cooked lentils ;))
• 1 small onion , chopped
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 8 ounces tomato sauce
• 16 ounce can pinto beans , or black beans
• 20 hard tacos shells
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese , or your preffered kind of cheese
• 1 romaine heart , chopped
• 2 Roma tomatoes , chopped
• salsa and sour cream , for topping, optional

Instructions

• Cook the ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking it into very small pieces until browned. Remove grease. Add onion and saute for a few minutes. Stir in the dry spices.
  
• Add tomato sauce and pinto beans and stir to combine. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two 9x13'' pans with the taco shells. 
• Spoon taco mixture into tacos. Top with cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes.
  
• Top with a little bit of lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream and salsa, if desired.

Notes

Make Ahead Instructions: The taco meat filling can be made 2-3 days in advance (depending on the freshness of your ingredients), stored in the fridge. When ready to use, fill tacos and bake as instructed. Assembled tacos, in the shells, will keep for a few hours stored in covered in the refrigerator (the taco shells will start to soften too much if assembled for longer than a few hours before baking).

Freezing Instructions: You can freeze taco meat filling in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, fill tacos and bake as directed.

Lentil Tacos

I found this recipe here:

https://71toes.com/2019/09/lentil-tacos/


Ingredients:

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic

2/3 c. dried lentils (any color)

1 Tbs. taco seasoning 

1 2/3 c. chicken broth

2 sweet potatoes

2/3 c. salsa

tortillas

For the toppings:

1 c. cherry tomatoes

1/2 c. chopped cilantro

lime juice and honey (to taste)

1 avocado

Feta cheese

arugula (or other mixed greens, but if you really want your tacos to be amazing, use arugula 

Directions:

Saute the onion and garlic in a pot with a little oil for a little bit until softened (about five minutes). Then add the dried lentils and taco seasoning, stir together for a minute and then add the chicken broth.

Bring this mixture to a boil, then cover and turn down the heat and let simmer for 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop up the sweet potatoes into bite-size pieces, coat them with a little bit of olive oil and 2 tsp. more taco seasoning. Roast in the oven at 400 for about twenty minutes (until they’re slightly browned). 

Dice up the cherry tomatoes and mix them up with the cilantro, some lime juice and a drizzle of honey. Then chop up everything else so people can top their tacos with whatever they like most.

When the lentils are done, mix in the salsa, and then they’re ready to use for your base.