In an effort to have enough taco meat to feed 3 adults and 1 hungry child I made 2 lbs of taco meat for last night’s dinner. Lots of tacos were eaten…soft
and hard, plus a yummy taco salad filled my plate! After all tummies were full I realized that I overestimated the amount of taco meat (ground beef) that would be consumed. With a little less than a pound of seasoned taco meat sitting in a storage container in the fridge, I’m left figuring out how to use it for tomorrow night’s dinner – and it CAN’T be TACOS!
THANK YOU to all the great responses! See here for a awesome list of ways to use leftover taco meat. Let me know if there is another one to add!
SPM, my kids are picky eaters and have lots of allergies on top of it, so good recipes are invaluable. I like to take ground meat, I don’t see why it couldn’t have taco seasoning, and add in some ground up veggies. I just put some carrots, green beans, squash, whatever in a food processor and cook it quickly with the meat. Then, I use spring roll wrappers that have taken a bath in some hot water, and roll a small amount of the meat and veggie mix in the wrappers like I would a burrito. I lightly coat the “spring rolls,” and I use the term loosely, with oil and bake in the oven until the wrappers are crunchy. My kids eat it up! Good luck!
Our all-time fave is to stack taco meat on top of a baked potato and then add as many of the traditional taco toppings as the individual wants. This is especially great when the weather is cold because the hot baked potato helps warm the body as well as feed it. Plus, for the best baked potatoes ever, check out this link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guys-big-bite-/the-bomb-bakers-recipe/index.html
The only caution I would add is to not overbake these. The directions specifically say not to puncture the potatoes before you bake them (I guess so the potatoes sort of steam themselves and get extra fluffy), but if they go too long the steam WILL build up to the point where the potatoes explode and make a mess of the oven.
Enjoy!
I recently discovered chilaquiles, a kind of casserole using leftovers. I have my own but it’s not posted. Try InErikasKitchen.com for her version.
I was going to say baked potatoes well. Could also be used in chili.
Let’s see…
Beef quesadillas with sour cream and guacamole
Beef and potato burritos (we like to used diced potatoes but you can use any cut of tater)
Super nachos (meat, beans, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, veggies, and anything else you like)
Mexican bowl – Spanish rice with meat and veggies to top it
Beef Enchiladas – probably skip the chili powder since the meat is already seasoned
Taco lasagna
When I lived alone and would make a pound of Taco seasoning I would always use the leftovers in mac n cheese. Noodles of choice and some sharp sharp cheddar melted down with some taco meat in it. Yum!
I would also make nachos with it, but that is a little too much like tacos. You could also make enchiladas with it. Wrap the meat in a corn tortilla and put some of that enchilada sauce and cheese over it and pop it in the oven.
Add it to beans and make chili. You could also add it to pasta and cheese.
OK, sorry if this counts as a taco but my kids love it so I’m sharing. You know those tortilla chips that are shaped like cute, little-bitty taco salad shells? Are they called Tostito Scoops? Anyway, we use up leftover taco meat by building tiny little taco salads. For a twist we sometimes make the small, flat tater tots to put in the bottom of the “bowls”. It makes it similar to the beef & potato burrito mentioned above. Like I said the kids love to make these because they’re just the cutest little things.
abi
LOVE this idea!!!! I’m hungry
[…] can be a challenge. Serving them the same way can often be a bore. Earlier this week I made tacos for dinner, feeding my husband, father in law, 4 ½ year old & myself. The 2 pounds of ground beef […]
My mom always mixed taco meat with cheese and encased in a cornmeal dough that she either baked or fried to make mexican meat pies. yummm!
Cooked brown rice, taco meat on top, shredded cheese n micro . Half sliced avacado on top great too!!