A Dozen Delicious Taco Recipes & Tips for Healthy Meals

Keeping this short and sweet  (err, quick and crunchy). . . because i need to commence the Taco Day celebrations! Today, October 4th is National Taco Day and tacos are being slung and their praises sung all over the country — apparently we eat billions and billions of them per year. I live in one of the most taco-obsessed cities in the nation (Austin, Texas) and i’m pretty sure we have a taco truck per every 10 residents. A Dozen Delicious Taco Recipes and Tips for Healthy Meals:

Are you dining out for taco day (Chuy’s is giving away free meals for dressing in a taco) or grabbing takeout (Torchy’s Tacos is having a Willy-Wonka “golden ticket” style giveaway for a year’s worth? I prefer to make my tacos at home so I can have them EXACTLY made to order. #TacoControlFreak

Read on to get A Dozen Delicious Taco Recipes and Tips for Healthy Meals:   Continue reading

20+ Fit & Fresh Cinco de Mayo Ideas

May is here and I am ready to parrrr-tay! Today I’ve rounded up my favorite Fit & Fresh Cinco de Mayo Ideas as inspiration for your south-of-the-border inspired shindig. I’ve stayed away from heavy, filling Mexican foods and focused on lighter foods, festive colors and alcohol-free libations so you can keep shaking your maracas all night. 20+ Fit and Fresh Ideas for Cinco de Mayo

Read on to get more that 20 Fit & Fresh Cinco de Mayo Ideas: Continue reading

Chipotle Butternut Squash Enchiladas – Vegetarian & Gluten-Free

Enchiladas are an easy, make-ahead family meal that gets my Tex-Mex loving family congregating in the kitchen early to count-down the oven timer. When the teenage boys found out I was serving vegetarian Chipotle Butternut Squash Enchiladas they seemed a little bummed about missing the meat. One said, “Well, at least there’s lots of butter and nuts”!  Chipotle Butternut Squash Enchiladas

After I educated him on this sizable squash (which is technically a fruit) packed with fiber, potassium, magnesium and vitamins like C, A & E, he took his plate with an eye roll. But, soon his plate was licked clean and he was coming back for more – read on to find out why and get the recipe! Continue reading

Tex-Mex Egg Drop Soup | 15-minute Meal

I’ve got so much Texas in me, it’s overflowing into my soup! Seriously though, last week, the hubby and me were feeling a little under the weather but well enough to eat a bit of something (I mean, puh-lease).  I tried my hand at an egg drop soup for the first time and it was fantastically easy and tasty – considering I added some of the flavors we love right here in the Lone Star and topped it with chopped avocado! This Tex-Mex Egg Drop Soup is the cure for WHATEVER ails you — even if it’s just hunger! Tex Mex Egg Drop Soup

I think you’ll love the new zesty attitude of a traditionally mild-mannered soup.  You can spice it up or down with your preferred amount of chipotle chile powder.  It’s the new thing in Texas comfort food (because I say so)! Continue reading

BBQ Beef Bean & Sweet ‘Tater Taquitos #TexMexAndFlex

BBQ Beef, Black Bean and Sweet Potato Taquitos are baked and filled with wholesome ingredients. We are up to our chin guards in football season, so I’ve kicked up my family-friendly, meal-prepping madness into overtime. With just a little “overtime” work on Sunday, I can prepare a couple batches of my BBQ Beef, Black Bean and Sweet ‘Tater Taquitos and have enough for a couple quick-fix, weeknight dinners and leftovers for snacking on the big game day. By the way and sorry for the questionable rhyming (haha), I originally developed these onfleek-o taquitos for BeefLovingTexans.com, so check it out!

BBQ Beef, Black Bean and Sweet Potato Taquitos make a quick and easy dinner solution. Baked, not fried, and filled with wholesome ingredients to fuel an active lifestyle. Meal prep a couple batches for the freezer for busy weeknight meals or football game day snacks.

While my teenage boys and their always-hungry friends are munching what they assume to be merely crispy, crunchy, cheesy, beefy taquitos (rolled small tacos by any other name!), I snicker in silent satisfaction knowing I’ve snuck in some wholesome nutrition to fuel their busy, active bodies. Lean beef for muscle-making protein and iron, beans for even more protein plus fiber, and sweet potato in a whole grain tortillas for a double-whammy of healthy complex carbs for long-lasting giddy-up-and-go.  As Guy Fieri would say in his own punderful way, “You can’t beato these taquitos!”

These tasty taquitos can be devoured right out of the oven, or freeze a batch and then just toss in the oven (or toaster oven!) on those endless days that have gone into double overtime. This is an easy way to pass the proverbial ball over to the kids and let them do some quarterbacking in the kitchen.

mojo-citrus-guacamole-1Just add a simple side salad and your favorite Texas-style condiments like guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo and barbeque sauce.My Mojo Citrus Guacamole makes a tasty team up!

 

 

 

 

 

bbq-beef-black-bean-and-sweet-tater-taquitos-preppingOne the taquito innards are made, assemble by adding a spoonful in the middle of a whole grain tortilla, rolling up and baking (no frying here and they are still super crunchy). While corn tortillas are traditional for taquitos, I’ve found that the corn-flour “mix” tortillas are more pliable and less prone to crack. If needed, insert a toothpick to keep tortillas secure, but don’t forget to remove before serving!

beef-black-bean-sweet-tater-taquito-holding-singleEnjoy!

Favorite football team? Any football players on the family roster this year? Favorite thing to roll in a tortilla? Please share in commets! XOXO , Jennifer 

BBQ Beef, Black Bean & Sweet 'Tater Taquitos
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
40 mins
 
Roll up healthy dinner plans pronto with fit and fresh BBQ Beef, Bean &Sweet Potato Taquitos - a quick dinner or snack solution. Double batch for freezer!
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: American, Mexican, Southwestern
Servings: 6 servings (20 taquitos total)
Ingredients
  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 packet taco seasoning
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 tablespoon additional olive oil for serving
  • 1 medium sweet potato, finely chopped (approx. 2 cups)
  • `1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/3 cup spicy bbq sauce
  • 8 ounces Mexican Blend shredded cheese (2 cups, divided)
  • 20 count corn-flour “mix” tortillas, 8" to 9” diameter
  • baking spray
  • Optioan Garnish: guacamole, bbq sauce, sour cream, etc
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. In large skillet, brown ground beef over medium-high heeat, add minced garlic in last 2 minutes of cooking. Drain fat and excess water. Mix in packet of taco seasoning and chili powder and 2 tablespoons of water (do not add amount of water taco season packet calls for). Stir and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Transfer cooked beef mixture to large bowl.
  3. Add olive oil to same skillet (okay if beef residue stays in there). Bring to medium-high heat and saute diced sweet potatoes for 4 to 5 minutes or until softened and browning. Add sweet potatoes to bowl with beef mixture.
  4. Add rinsed and drained beans to beef bow. Make sure beans have drained well to prevent soggy taquitos. Let entire mixture cool down for 5 to 10 minutes.
  5. Gently stir in BBQ sauces and 1 ½ cups of cheese.
  6. Working one at a time, transfer tortilla to a work surface; place scant 1/3 cup beef mixture into center of tortilla. Bring the bottom edge of the tortilla tightly over the filling, rolling from bottom to top until the top of the tortilla is reached. Secure with toothpick. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling.
  7. Place taquitos onto rimmed sheet sprayed with baking spray. Spray tops of taquitos with baking spray and bake until crisp and cheese has melted, about 12-15 minutes.
  8. To reheat from frozen, heat oven to 375 F degrees and place taquitos on rimmed sheet sprayed with baking spray. Lightly cover tops of taquitos with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and spray tops of taquitos with baking spray, increase heat to 400 and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes until crisp, cheese has melted and tops are brown.