BrokeBack Tacos Gringa Style

I love tacos. I love Mexican food period. But I love tacos.

But I do not like fussy foods. And tacos are fussy in that you have to manipulate this “shell” and pack it full of stuff, all without breaking it, and trying to get a bit of everything in there, and then you bite it.

And it breaks.

And it dumps all your innards on your plate. And you eat you taco with a fork.

At least it happens that way entirely too much.

So I kinda worked out a taco that starts on the plate and stays there, at least until shoveled into your drooling mouth.

And it tastes pretty much the same. Actually it’s better because you can build it as high as you like with all your favorites.

And yes, it does say cabbage, and just do as I say! At least once. If you still prefer lettuce, well, then, go back to it. Totally confused? Well you won’t be if you read on.

INGREDIENTS:

• About 1/2 a bag of corn chips, your favorite (unsalted is best)
• 1 lb of ground beef
• 3 tbsp of my Mexican Spice mix.
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 can beans of your choice: pinto, red, kidney, black
• 2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 c corn (frozen or canned)
• 2 c shredded cheese (Monterey Jack, Hot Jack, Cheddar, etc)
• 3 c shredded cabbage
• A batch of Pico de Gallo, pureed into salsa
• More shredded cheese along with some Queso Fresca crumbling cheese
• sour cream
• chopped scallions
• avocado slices

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Line a cookie sheet with foil and put the chips on it and place in a 200° oven to warm.
2. Put the meat, spices and onion into a skillet to brown. Cook until done.
3. Drain and rinse the beans and add them, then the tomato and corn.
4. Top with the cheese. Put a lid on the skillet and just barely simmer until the cheese has melted and everything is warmed through.
5. Bring the skillet to the table, and the chips in a basket. All the rest of the ingredients should be in bowls to “build your taco.”
6. Place some chips on your plate, add some shredded cabbage, some of the meat mixture from the skillet and whatever other toppings you desire.

Serves: 4

Notes: I like my Pico de Gallo whirred up in the food processor for this dish. This makes it salsa instead of de Gallo, I think. As to the cabbage: i was short on lettuce one day, so I slipped in some finely shredded cabbage and we loved it. It remained crunchy, didn’t affect the taste, and just seemed a lot better than the lettuce. So we substitute it now for lettuce.

Advertisement