Apparently taco night is a standby in, like, 90% of families. Not ours—we used to have nachos for dinner on Sunday nights on occasion, but never ever tacos. Still, I like the “assemble your own” idea, and there are few things easier than cooking up some seasoned meat, heating the shells, and putting out all the rest of the goodies. Besides, now that I’m going to be a mom, I have an obligation to develop a set of go-to meals, right? (It’s a boy, by the way!)
I used shells from Trader Joe’s (which also supplied guacamole and salsa) and an organic seasoning mix from Whole Foods. I much prefer the taco seasoning powder from Christina’s Spice Shop in Inman Sq., but I used it all up making chili, oops! I cooked a pound of beef so I’d have lots leftover for nachos!
The goods:
My mom always used yogurt instead of sour cream, and I do the same, but with greek yogurt, which mimics the texture so well Ben didn’t believe me the first time.
Delicious, if messy, and required about 20 minutes of total prep, including washing and cutting up lettuce and tomato. If I can find a source for good tortillas we’ll do soft tacos next time.
A few nights later it was, um, The Oscars. (I know, I’m always behind. The problem is that I don’t have a single solitary photo of any meals since then. We’ve been all over the place, and barely eating at home, and when we have I’ve been slacking and doing things like Rising Moon ravioli. Next week appears to be better; anyone have anything they’d like to see cooked?)
ANYWAY. The Oscars! Party on the futon! Nachos for dinner! I was in the middle of a constantly-ravenous phase, and I accidentally made such enormous, filling plates of nachos that, well…we’ll get to that.
What I used:
-Everything from the tacos (guacamole, salsa, tomatoes, lettuce, meat, yogurt)
-Chips
-Refried beans. This was the one-step-too-far decision.
I put a layer of nachos in the bottom of a pasta plate, then heaped lettuce on top and dabbed on guacamole, salsa, beans, yogurt, and covered it with meat and tomatoes.
Then another layer of the chips/cheese, and more of all the toppings:
Side view: It’s a salad! Sort of.
Uuuugh. So tasty! So easy to just. keep. eating. We could have split one of those plates; instead we each ate our own. Yikes. Poor Ben ate and ate and ate and finally turned to me and said “what are you doing to me?”
And then he fell asleep.
Nachos! We haven’t made nachos in ages. This is genius, as we just bought some ground turkey last night.
PS, yay, a boy! And I would have said the same thing if it were a girl 🙂
Why oh why must I see this an hour before lunchtime?
I haven’t made tacos in forever…tonight may just be Taco Thursday!
What is the reasoning behind yogurt instead of sour cream? Is it healthier?
We love tacos in the Mody household, all types, bean, chicken, shrimp, pork, beef. Its a great use for that little baggy of leftover meat from another meal that got frozen as to not let it go to waste…alas, destination tacos!
Yogurt is healthier than sour cream and the Nancy’s yogurt we have in Eugene, OR is tangy and thick. We’re so used to yogurt that sour cream seems too rich and bland – if that makes sense?
Please invite me to the next taco night!