Almost as Easy As Drive-Thru: Taco Buffet
This is my third post in a series that I didn't really know I was starting. But now that I have three posts, I guess it's officially a series!
I'm constantly on the lookout for easy, economical, and healthy dinners that are "almost as easy as drive-thru." Previously I've blogged about Baked Ravioli and Grilled Hawaiian Chicken. Today's addition is a Taco Buffet.
My family has different preferences when it comes to tacos. I like taco salad, my daughter likes soft tacos, my son likes beef and refried bean burritos, and my husband likes tacos with hard shells. Does this sound like a lot of work? Actually, it's super easy.
On taco nights I brown meat, add taco seasonings, and heat up refried beans. I set out some lettuce and tomatoes. Then I just open bags and jars of cheese, tortillas, sour cream, and salsa. Everyone then put together their favorite version of tacos from this "taco buffet". It's one of the easiest meals I make.
Tacos are economical by nature, but here are some ways to make this meal even more inexpensive:
- Use generic versions of sour cream, salsa, tortillas and sour cream.
- Opt for heads of lettuce that you cut up over bags of lettuce.
- Buy meat in bulk when it's on sale or at a warehouse club and freeze dinner-sized portions.
- Switch up the meat - Use turkey instead of ground beef or go half and half.
- Boost the nutrition - You'll get more nutrition from romaine lettuce over iceberg. And tortillas now come in a variety of multi-grain or whole wheat varieties.
- Lighten it up - Almost everything you use for tacos comes in low-fat or fat-free varieties: cheese, sour cream, refried beans, and tortillas.
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5 comments:
I love tacos! We do chicken breasts in the slow cooker with one can of chicken broth and one packet of taco seasoning. Cook on low for six hours and then shred the meat- yummy!
I love anything that each family can personalize- great post!
Great article! Princess absolutely adores tacos and burritos-they do make Yankee Bill cringe a little-with a 7 and 4 1/2 year old they are a messy meal,and YB has a much lower tolerance for mess than I do.
Taco meat is one of those things it is easy to stretch with additional fillers. The taco spices are so dominant that you usually can't really taste the flavor of the meat you are using anyway. It's the perfect place to throw in some reconstituted TVP, cooked lentils, oats or rice to stretch out the meat.
Great article! We love taco dinners here as well. I have a bunch of Old El Paso hard taco shells I got for .45 a box and plenty of free Daisy sour cream using coupons. I found a great taco style lentils and rice recipe that is fantastic! We don't even miss the meat.
We are going to do this! That just seems so simple. Hubby loves it when we have tacos, but I do admit I dread it because of all the little bowls of stuff to get out. Why didn't I think of just making a taco bar?
Great ideas, ladies. Thanks for your comments!
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