Healthy meal of the week: Hard shell tacos with Spanish rice

Healthy leftover idea: Mexican pizza

Here’s an easy-to-make meal your family, and especially kids, will love: hard shell tacos. What makes these portable treats so special is that you can literally add any ingredient you like. What you would like to put on your tacos, your partner or your children may like something completely different. Also, if you haven’t had a chance to try a Mexican pizza before, hold on to your socks because these little guys taste so good!

Necessary equipment

– 2 potted pots

– 1 frying pan

– 1 baking sheet

Preparation time

– 10 minutes

Time to cook

– 20 minutes

Ingredients

(4-6 servings)

– 2 pounds of lean ground beef

– 1 cup of rice

– 1 8 oz. can of tomato sauce

– 1 16 oz. refried beans

– 1 tomato

– 1 white onion

– 1 lettuce

– 1 tablespoon. minced garlic

– 1 chicken bouillon cube

– grated cheese of your choice

– sauce of your choice

– olive oil (or another type you have on hand)

– seasonings: salt, pepper and 2 bay leaves (optional)

For Mexican pizzas

– Flour tortillas

– 1 10 oz. can of red enchilada sauce

Addresses

1. Since rice will take longer to cook, let’s start there. At medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil to your saucepan / rice cooker and then the cup of rice. Let it brown, stirring occasionally for a couple of minutes. Add the whole can of tomato sauce and stir well. Finally, add 1 1/2 cups of hot water, two bay leaves, and a chicken stock cube and bring to a boil, stirring frequently to help dissolve the cube. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and cover with lid. Set the timer for 20 minutes.

two. Next, open the packet of lean ground beef and place in a skillet over medium heat. Dice 1/4 of the onion and add it to the meat along with 1 tablespoon of minced garlic with a pinch of salt and pepper. You can always mince garlic with a food processor, saving you money and it is fresher. Mix well with a wooden spoon or plastic spatula making sure to cut the meat into very small pieces. Cook well until you reach the desired comfort (approximately 10-14 minutes).

3. For the refried beans, all that is needed is to open the can and put the contents in a small saucepan over medium / low heat. You can add 1/4 cup of milk or some hot sauce like Tapatio to spice them up and make the beans a bit more “watery.” Cover and stir every few minutes for a total of 12 to 15 minutes.

Four. Once you have everything on the fire cooking you can dice and chop the lettuce, the rest of the onion, the tomato and have the grated cheese ready. This way, once the food has finished cooking, you will have your assembly line for making tacos ready to go.

5. Carefully remove food from the stove and have serving spoons ready. Take a hard shell taco and put in a tablespoon or two of refried beans first. Then add a tablespoon or two of lean ground beef. Use the spoon to carefully push the meat onto the beans so that you have more room to place your other items of your choosing.

6. As you can see in this food example, only lettuce, onion, tomato, cheese, and a little Tapatio hot sauce were used, but you can use any dressing you like. Olives, jalapeños, hot peppers, and green bell peppers are just a handful of other possibilities you can consider when making tacos at home.

7. Two hard shell tacos along with a serving of Spanish rice and a large glass of water will bring this delicious meal to only around 500 calories. Enjoy!

Healthy leftover idea: Mexican pizzas

If you’ve ever had a Mexican Taco Bell pizza, you already know how delicious it tastes, so why not make one for yourself, since you already have more than half of the ingredients ready. All you will need additionally are flour tortillas and a small can of red enchilada sauce.

Add a little oil to a skillet over medium heat. Place a flour tortilla and let it brown for 45 seconds to a minute. Use tongs to flip to the other side and then remove from heat and place the tortilla on a paper towel to help soak up any residual oil. Repeat for the other tortilla. On a baking sheet place one of the tortillas and spread a thin layer of refried beans all over the top and then sprinkle with some cooked lean ground beef. Top with the other tortilla and then sprinkle a few tablespoons of the red enchilada sauce on top. Sprinkle grated cheese along with some diced tomatoes and any other toppings you want to add. Place the baking sheet in the oven on the grill. It should only take about 4-5 minutes for the cheese to melt. Remove carefully and cut into quarters.