Fun Dinner Idea: Taco Bowls

Earlier in the week, I came across this Taco Bowl recipe from Amy at A Little Nosh and immediately bookmarked it in my "Things to try SOON" folder.  It had everything I look for in a dinner recipe ~ it was quick and easy to make, with ingredients that I usually have on hand ~ plus the edible bowl idea was really clever.  Since I was planning on making tacos one night this week anyway, I decided to alter the menu just slightly and make these instead.  I made a few changes to the recipe Amy posted based on what I had in the fridge and pantry.  They were easy to prepare, tasty and will definitely be added into our meal rotation.

UPDATE:  Like sweet more than savory? Check out the dessert version I just came up with ~ Cinnamon Dessert Bowls!

How fun is this for dinner?

INGREDIENTS (served our family of 5):

• Twelve 6-inch flour tortillas
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 packet taco seasoning mix
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1/2 cup black beans
• taco fixings ~ lettuce, salsa, sour cream, shredded cheese, taco sauce

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Microwave tortillas for 30 seconds to soften. (I did two at a time.)  Place a softened tortilla in each of the muffin tins, gently pushing it down to the bottom and folding up against the sides.  ( I found it worked well to fold the warm tortilla in half, then in half again, putting it down in the muffin tin and then unfolding it onto the sides and onto the bottom)

Microwaving the tortillas to soften is a necessary step to get them into the muffin tins easily.

3. Bake the empty tortilla shells for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, brown the ground beef in a large skillet with the taco seasoning and about 1/4 cup water. Add the corn and black beans and simmer until everything is heated through.

4. Spoon the meat mixture into your tortilla cup.  Add your choice of toppings and enjoy.  We liked scooping out a few bites with a spoon or fork, then picking up the whole taco bowl and eating the rest!

The Verdict:  My husband, myself and our youngest daughter really liked them.  My older daughter loved the shells, but didn't like the corn and beans mixed in the meat mixture (she likes her food better separated *mom rolls eyes* ).  My son didn't care for it, but he's been super picky lately, so I'm not surprised.  Overall, I'm pleased with those statistics and will make these taco bowls again (maybe leaving the corn and beans out of a small portion so I can up the ratio to 4 out of 5 happy eaters! :D )

One happy diner!

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