Contrary to popular belief, you can enjoy tacos any day of the week–not just on Tuesdays! Oh, and here’s something else that goes against conventional wisdom. Rather than make you read through a long post before getting to the recipe (in hopes of boosting my ad revenue) I’m gonna lead with the goods. You’re a parent. You got more important things going on. Here goes:
Estimated Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
- 20 cherry tomatoes
- 1 box of Old El Paso Crunchy Shells (I get it, they’re not authentic. I like the crunchy ones. Use soft tortillas if you like.)
- 1 packet of Old El Paso Original Taco Seasoning
- ⅔ cup of water
- 1 pd of lean ground sirloin (95% lean or higher; don’t worry about the flavor–you’re seasoning the meat)
- 8 oz of shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 can of Pace Chunky Salsa
- 1 bag of shredded lettuce
Directions:
- Heat the olive oil in medium non-stick skillet on medium-to-high heat.
- Quarter the cherry tomatoes. When cutting tomatoes, always use a serrated knife. If you don’t have a tomato knife, steak knives work really well,
- Once heated, crumble the mashed ground sirloin into the skillet. Mashing and crumbling avoids the long “wormy” pieces of meat, and ensures appetizing pieces.
- Cook ground meat until browned.
- Once browned, add ⅔ cup of water into the skillet, followed by the Old El Paso Original Taco Seasoning. Mix. Then turn up the heat until the water boils.
- Once the water boils, turn the heat down to medium-to-low heat, and let the beef simmer, mixing occasionally.
- When the liquid has reduced, remove the meat from heat.
- Place the tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, salsa, and meat in separate bowls, and place spoons in each bowl.
- Open your box of Old El Paso Crunchy Shells, and microwave the desired number of shells for 30-45 seconds. Heating them up will restore a nice crunch.
- Place all the bowls and shells on a set table. Dinner is served!
Growing up, these were the tacos my mom made. Granted, she had more toppings on the table, like black olives, green onion, avocado, and sour cream. If you like all that, go for it. If you don’t, do you. For ease, I stick to the basics and don’t overcomplicate things with added veggies that need to be washed, and chopped, and all that stuff. I put tomatoes on the table, and I’m good with that. Anyway, I loved these tacos as a kid. In fact, they were occasionally selected for my birthday meal. Yeah. That’s how much I enjoyed them.
Naturally, now that I have my own family to cook for, this is my go-to recipe for quick, tasty beef tacos. Added bonus? Health-wise, since I’m using lean meat, we’re in pretty good shape. Wait. I’ve been eating healthy all along? I don’t know how I feel about this. Eh, whatever. They’re really good. I’ll allow it. Just eat reasonable portions!
So, the next time you’re hungry and looking for a fast meal that’s sure to please your crew, think about this simple beef taco recipe. Your wallet will thank you. Your stomach will thank you. Heck, seems like even your waistline might thank you. Enjoy!
Note: Header image courtesy of Pixabay.
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