Friday, September 14, 2012

Day 10 & Tacos

 
Today's weather here is a high of 69 degrees and rainy. I find it invigorating to run in the cooler weather and rain. Day 10 is now complete and their are only five days to go before I complete the chart! 


 
Now it's tomato time around here.  The zucchini's are coming to an end and we have more tomatoes, aka maters, than we know what to do with.  Maters are my absolute favorite thing from the garden.  There's nothing like the sweet and tangy taste of a sun-warmed, freshly picked cherry mater straight from the garden. 

Ever since I had tried the walking taco from the Heritage Fair, I've been craving a taco with fresh maters on it.  So, I made some and they are quite possibly, THE BEST TACOS EVER!  Plus, they are healthy, yay-- bonus points!


 
I started out with extra lean ground turkey cooked up with minced peppers and onion.  This extra lean meat has very little grease to drain once cooked, but still, I drained it.
 
 
Next come the garden fresh veggies, a little more onion and these maters all get prepared to go into the food processor to make the awesomely fresh taco sauce.
 

I added several sprigs of cilantro to the mix as well.  Love the cilantro! 
 

 
Pour the sauce over the meat and you're in business!  Inhale deeply as the magnificent aroma fills your kitchen.

 
Oh, don't forget to add the corn.  I happened to have a few ears on hand, but you can use canned or frozen corn if need be.
 
 
 
Let me tell you, this taco filling is very good just the way it is at this point.  However, to kick the flavor up a bit more, I added 1 package of taco seasoning to the mix.  Ohhh, it's soooo good.


Usually we tend to do soft shells around here, but after seeing how neatly these shells were designed, I figured I'd give em a try.  I was NOT disappointed.  :)   

Beans are something my kiddies do not care to eat much of, yet they are so healthy.  So, to up the nutrients and protein of this dish a bit more, I pasted each shell with a layer of fat free refried beans prior to filling with the taco meat.  Then, they were all topped with cheese and baked until warm and melty.

 
Stand up taco shells-- how cool is that!
 

The warm and melty taco were served with light sour cream and chives, fresh avocado, and what else-- more maters.

 

 
 
These babies were being ate up so fast I had to hurry and snap a pic before they were all gone. 
 

 
Since I had ran out of shells, but had taco filling leftover, I made taco casserole.  It's always nice to be able to pop a dish in the oven without all the fuss.  That's why I like freezing casseroles, this one in particular does very well.  All it takes is to mix the taco filling with cooked macaroni shells and top with cheese.  I sprinkled a small bag of crushed Doritos on top right before baking. WaaLaa, Taco Casserole!


 

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