Healthy food 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 any toppings of your choice. What you would like to put in 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 on to your socks because these little guys taste great!

necessary equipment

– 2 pots with lid
– 1 frying pan
– 1 baking tray

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 chicken bouillon cube
– grated cheese of your choice
– sauce of your choice
– olive oil (or another type you have on hand)
– condiments: salt, pepper and 2 bay leaves (optional)

for mexican pizza

– Flour tortillas
– 1 10 oz. can of red enchilada sauce

Addresses

1. Since rice will take longer to cook, let’s start there. Over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil to your skillet/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 hot water, two bay leaves and a chicken bouillon cube and bring to a boil stirring frequently to help dissolve the cube. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and cover with lid. Set the timer for 20 minutes.

two. 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 to the meat along with 1 tablespoon minced garlic with a pinch of salt and seasoned pepper. You can always mince the garlic using a food processor saving you money and it’s fresher. Mix well with a wooden spoon or plastic spatula making sure to cut the meat into very small pieces. Cook well until desired well-being is reached (about 10 to 14 minutes).

3. For refried beans, all that is needed is to open the can and place the contents in a small pot over medium/low heat. You can add 1/4 cup of milk or a hot sauce like Tapatío to spice them up and make the beans a bit 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’ll 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 in a tablespoon or two of refried beans. 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 fit the other items of your choice.

6. As you can see in this sample meal, only lettuce, onions, tomatoes, cheese, and a little Tapatío hot sauce were used, but you can use whatever ingredients you like. Olives, jalapeños, 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 make this delicious meal a total of only about 500 calories. Enjoy!

Healthy Leftover 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 of the ingredients already prepared? All you’ll 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 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 some cooked lean ground beef. Top with the other tortilla then spread a few tablespoons of the red enchilada sauce on top. Sprinkle with grated cheese along with some diced tomatoes and any other toppings you want to add. Place the baking sheet in the oven on the broiler. It should only take about 4-5 minutes for the cheese to melt. Carefully remove and cut into quarters.