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Mexican

Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Cheesy Sausage Dip

April 4, 2017 by Amy Leave a Comment

Cheesy Sausage Dip

Hello y’all! I can’t believe we are finally officially in SPRING! It’s time to plant new flowers, have the semi-annual fight with pollen (ha), fork out the warm weather clothes, and well…have more parties!

When it comes to hosting family and friends in our home, I’ve learned that simpler is better. I used to make elaborate meals for parties, but it’s hard to enjoy a party when you’re stuck in the kitchen the whole time! I really only go all-out for Christmas or Easter. Other than that, I prefer to stick with easier recipes. I especially love spring, because typical spring parties = crawfish boils in Louisiana. However, sometimes the guests come hungry (way before the crawfish are finished), so a quick/easy dip recipe that stays warm in the slow cooker is just the ticket!

I like to make this dip just before the guests arrive, so the cheese on top is nice and melty for everyone to enjoy. It’s ridiculously simple to make and it’s always a crowd pleaser! 🙂

Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Cheesy Sausage Dip
Source: adapted from Southern Bite

Ingredients:

  • 16 oz. sweet Italian sausage
  • 16 oz. Velveeta, cubed
  • 8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
  • 10 oz. can RoTel Diced tomatoes and chiles, drained
  • 11 oz. can Mexican corn, drained
  • 1 tsp. taco seasoning
  • 1 cup shredded taco blend cheese

Directions:

  1. Brown the sausage fully in a pan. Once the sausage has fully cooked, drain and discard the leftover fat.
  2. Add the cubed Velveeta and cream cheese to the pan with the sausage, and cook/stir on low heat until the cheeses have melted.
  3. Add the drained tomatoes, corn and seasoning to the pan, and mix until fully incorporated.
  4. Transfer the dip to your slow cooker and set the slow cooker to warm. Sprinkle the cheese over the top of the dip. Cover, and serve with tortilla chips after the shredded cheese starts to melt.
  5. Enjoy!

 

Filed Under: Appetizers, Mexican, Pork/Ham/Bacon

Skillet Tamale Pie

January 12, 2017 by Amy 2 Comments

Skillet Tamale Pie

Louisiana’s winters are so crazy. One day, it’s in the 20s and two days later, it’s in the 70s. I can’t figure out a menu with all of these darn weather changes! One day, it’s perfect for comfort food and the next, I feel like I need to make kabobs on the grill haha!

Of course, I love comfort food days. I bookmarked this recipe a couple of months ago when I got an email from America’s Test Kitchen. It was such a simple recipe to throw together. It’s basically beans and ground beef cooked together, topped with a cheesy cornbread crumbly topping. If you make the cornbread in advance or purchase some at the store, this is great for an easy weeknight dinner to throw together! This was a winner, and both my husband and the in-laws said I needed to make this one again! 🙂
Skillet Tamale Pie
Source: Cook’s Country

Ingredients:
  • 10 oz. pre-made cornbread, crumbled (about 2 1/2 cups)
  • 3 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp. minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
  • 1 1/2 lbs. 90-percent lean ground beef
  • 2 (15.5 oz. each) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 (10 oz.) cans Ro-Tel tomatoes, drained, 1/3 cup juice reserved
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Directions:
  1. Place the oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the cornbread, 1 1/2 cups cheese, 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper.
  3. Heat the oil in a 12-inch oven-safe skillet over medium heat, until simmering. Add chopped onion and chipotle pepper, and stir/cook the mixture until the onion has softened (about 5 minutes).
  4. Add in the ground beef, being sure to break up the ground meat well as it cooks. Cook the mixture for about 5 minutes, until the beef is no longer pink. Stir in the beans, Ro-Tel and reserved juice, and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add in 2 tbsp. cilantro and the other 1 1/2 cups of cheese, and stir the mixture well. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
  5. Sprinkle the cornbread mixture evenly over the meat/bean filling. Place the skillet in the oven, and bake until the cornbread mixture is golden brown (about 10-15 minutes). Garnish with the remaining cilantro. Enjoy!

 

Filed Under: Beef, Mexican

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

June 10, 2016 by Amy Leave a Comment

Disclosure: Que Pasa Foods sent me products/coupons in exchange for a recipe post. All opinions are 100% my own.
Salsa Chicken

One of the most surprising things about building a new house is realizing how many projects are involved after the house is built! The garden, fencing in the yard, organizing everything, decorating, and other random house projects…the list goes on and on! I feel like most of our weekends involve something to do with the house, so my usual weekend cooking/baking adventures have taken a back seat. When our weekends are just crazy, I love forking out the slow cooker and making a meal. Throw the ingredients in the slow cooker, set the timer, and just let it go. Easy.

Recently, I went back to an old favorite….Salsa Chicken (only THREE ingredients)! Que Pasa Foods sent me a variety of their products to try, and my husband and I fell in LOVE with their Chipotle Salsa. Chipotle peppers add a bit of heat and spice, and when you add this in the slow cooker with chicken? OMG y’all. We had tacos the first night, and I made nachos another night with them. It’s just so flavorful. I just need to buy a case of this stuff…it’s probably the best jarred salsa I have ever had (seriously). 🙂 While this recipe works wonderfully for dinner, it’s also perfect for a party! You could easily make this a part of a taco bar for the 4th of July!

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken
Source: adapted from Gimme Some Oven

Ingredients:

  • 1 jar Que Pasa Chipotle Salsa (just about 2 cups)
  • 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 1/2 tbsp. taco seasoning

Directions:

  1. Pour half of the jar of salsa in the bottom of the slow cooker. Place the chicken breasts over the salsa. Sprinkle the taco seasoning over the chicken, and then pour the rest of the salsa over the chicken breasts.
  2. Cover the slow cooker, and set on low for 6-8 hours (or high for 4 hours). Take out the chicken and shred the chicken well. Place the chicken back in the crockpot, and stir it into the salsa mixture. Enjoy!

 

 

Filed Under: Mexican, Poultry

Blueberry Margaritas + Blue Cheese Guacamole!

May 5, 2016 by Amy Leave a Comment

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, on behalf of Corralejo Tequila and Cheese of Europe. I was compensated for this post, and all opinions are 100% my own. Please drink responsibly.

IMG_9402

Happy Cinco de Mayo, y’all! I’m not sure how we got to May, but I’m not complaining! We’re so close to summer, and while I’m no longer in school, I’m looking forward to no more school traffic and a happy thing for food bloggers — more sunlight!

IMG_9417

When it comes to Cinco de Mayo, I have to have something tex-mex. It just feels right. So, I made some guacamole and not just any guacamole…I made blue cheese guacamole!

I just love a good, chunky guacamole. This recipe is a twist on a classic — just crumbling in some tangy, slightly-spicy Roquefort (blue) cheese brings this guacamole to a whole different level! It’s fantastic, and it couldn’t be easier to make.

IMG_9427

Blue Cheese Guacamole
Source: an original

Ingredients:

  • 2 large Hass avocados, peeled and pitted
  • 1 medium roma tomato, seeded and chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped red onion
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1/4 cup crumbled Roquefort cheese
  • juice of one lime
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

  1. Place the avocados in a medium-sized bowl and mash the avocados with a fork. Place the rest of the ingredients in the bowl with the avocado, and mix until everything is well-combined.
  2. Enjoy!

Since it’s Cinco de Mayo, you know I was itching to make a margarita. Since I was already working with BLUE cheese, my silly self thought…why not make BLUEberry margaritas? (Get it? I crack myself up!) And to give it a little extra kick, I added in a little jalapeno. 🙂

This is the first time I’ve ever had Corralejo tequila, and their Reposado paired really well with blueberry. Confession time: I didn’t really know much about how tequilas were made until recently. Corralejo Reposado is aged four months in barrels, which are made from three types of wood including French, American and Mexican Oak. Corralejo Silver is bottled fresh from the distillery.

Now, as far as the margarita goes, this margarita didn’t have a jalapeno flavor…rather, it just gave the drink a slightly spicy kick. To make the drink, I made a blueberry simple syrup, and added that to the tequila/triple sec/lime/jalapeno. That way, you can easily control how sweet/blueberry-ish you want your margarita to be.

IMG_9408

Blueberry Jalapeno Margarita
Source: an original

Ingredients:

To make the blueberry simple syrup:

  • 1 cup fresh blueberries
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup water

To make the margarita:

  • 4 oz. Corralejo Reposado Tequila
  • 2 oz. Triple Sec
  • 1/4 to 1/3 sliced jalapeno (depending on how much of a kick you want)
  • juice of 3 limes
  • 2-3 oz. blueberry simple syrup (depending on how sweet you want the drink to be)
  • Optional: salt for the rim, fresh blueberries and lime slices for garnish

Directions:

  1. To make the simple syrup, heat the blueberries, sugar and water together in a medium saucepan, stirring and mashing the berries as the mixture cooks. Cook the simple syrup until the sugar has fully dissolved. Turn off the heat and set aside until fully cooled. Once the mixture has cooled, put the blueberry simple syrup through a strainer and into a large jar. Discard the blueberries that strain out.
  2. Place the tequila, triple sec, jalapeno slices, lime juice, and blueberry simple syrup into a cocktail shaker over ice. Cover the shaker and shake the mixture well. Pour the margarita into glasses over ice and enjoy! (Please drink responsibly.)

Filed Under: Appetizers, Beverages, Entertaining/Parties, Fruit, Mexican, Nifty Foodie Original

Spicy Chipotle Taco Soup

February 25, 2016 by Amy Leave a Comment

Disclosure: OXO sent me free products, in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are 100% my own.

Spicy Chipotle Taco Soup

Since we moved to the new house, we have been using the kitchen quite a bit. Honestly, the kitchen is what made me fall for the floor plan, so of course, I was going to go a little crazy. After a couple of weeks, however, we were definitely missing our old vented kitchen. So, we had someone come out and take care of venting the kitchen for us.

I can’t even begin to explain how nice it is to have a venting kitchen again. A lot of Louisiana comfort food revolves around cooking with onions/bell peppers/celery to start out the dishes, and while it smells good when you’re cooking, I really don’t want to smell it the next morning haha! It’s so nice to no longer deal with that…in fact, when I was cooking this soup, H commented that he could barely smell it (and y’all know that tex-mex spices, like cumin, are strong)! So, I’m definitely in my happy place when I’m in our kitchen now. 🙂

OXO sent me some of their newest products to try out, and I couldn’t help but think about making a hearty soup with some of their tools. I was sent the Ground Meat Chopper and Turner, Silicone Ladle, and the
Vegetable Chopper with Easy-Pour Opening.

OXO

I decided to make a spicy chipotle taco soup the other night. After having a smoky tortilla soup at a local tex-mex place, I so wanted to replicate the broth as closely as I could. One thing I didn’t expect was for H to love it as much as he did. He’s usually adding more spices to whatever I make, and I’m pretty sure he didn’t add anything to this soup! I will mention that this soup is pretty darn spicy, so I added some avocado slices to my bowl to help with the heat from this soup. If you don’t want it to be very spicy, you can use less chipotle peppers (or remove the seeds) or use a milder Rotel in the recipe (I used original). I also wanted to mention that while it’s delicious the day you make it, it’s even MORE flavorful the next day. Look at how hearty this soup is!

OXO

I have to admit, this recipe is pretty darn quick to throw together. Prep was very easy, thanks to the OXO Vegetable chopper. Chopping the onion and bell pepper was a breeze!

OXO

Also, I was surprised at how helpful the OXO Ground Meat Chopper was. I’m used to chopping things up with a spatula, but this made the meat break up so easily and quickly.

OXO

I think this recipe is perfect for weeknight cooking. You don’t have to prep too much, and a good bit of the ingredients involve cans of vegetables to add into the recipe. So simple and super delicious!

Spicy Chipotle Taco Soup

Spicy Chipotle Taco Soup
Source: an original

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. lean ground beef (at least 90% lean)
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  • 3/4 tsp. chili powder
  • 1 tsp. cumin
  • 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 chipotle pepper (from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce), finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp. adobo sauce
  • 2 10.5 oz. cans of Rotel, with juice (I used medium…if you want it not as spicy, use mild)
  • 1 15 oz. can of yellow corn, rinsed and drained
  • 1 15 oz. can of black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 32 oz. chicken stock
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • Optional toppings: sliced avocado, cheese, broken-up tortilla chips

Directions:

  1. In a large, heavy stockpot (at least 5 quarts in size) over medium-high heat, brown the lean ground beef until it’s fully cooked.
  2. Add in the chopped onion and bell pepper, cooking until the onions are translucent. Reduce the heat to medium. Then, add in the cumin, smoked paprika, salt, garlic cloves, chipotle pepper and adobo sauce, and stir/cook for about another minute, until fragrant.
  3. Add in the Rotel, yellow corn, black beans and chicken stock. Stir and reduce the heat to a simmer. Once it reaches a simmer, place the lid on the pot, and allow the soup to simmer for 20-30 minutes. When the soup has finished simmering, slowly pour and mix in the heavy cream. Enjoy!

 

Filed Under: Beef, Mexican, Nifty Foodie Original, Review, Stews/Soups

Beef Enchilada Rice Bake

December 9, 2015 by Amy 4 Comments

Disclaimer: I received a copy of Dinner for Two, in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are 100% my own.

Beef Enchilada Rice Bake

House stuff is really starting to get hectic for us. With Christmas just around the corner, and this big move about to happen, I honestly just want to go home after work and be lazy. I don’t want to pack boxes or worry about cooking dinner. I just want to chill…I really miss my afternoon naps, y’all. 😛 Adult problems.

Since we alternate cooking nights with family that we live with, I’m always looking for something quick and easy to make after work. (It also has to taste good, of course.) I have quite a few go-to recipes, but I’m always looking for something different to add to my usual recipes. When I was offered to review Julie Wampler’s (of Table for Two) new book, Dinner for Two, I had to jump at the chance to give this book a try. Dinner for Two has 70 quick and easy dinner for two recipes (50 of which are dinner entrees and 20 are breakfast for dinner entrees). Quick and easy recipes…you had my attention, Julie. 🙂

Dinner for Two

I met Julie at Food Blog Forum in 2013, and ever since then, I’ve been a fan of her blog. She has gorgeous food photography, and she features a little bit of everything in her blog. One of the first recipes I tried from her blog was her Slow-Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala (which was delicious….I never blogged about it, but if y’all love chicken tikka masala, you have to try that recipe!).

Once I received her book in the mail, I immediately put post-it flags all over this book…there’s so many great dinner ideas! The first recipe we tried was this Beef Enchilada Rice Bake, and y’all…this recipe was so easy to throw together. Since it calls for cooked rice, I had the rice cooking while I was prepping and cooking through the first couple of steps. The timing worked out perfectly for me, since our rice cooker has rice ready in about 15 minutes.

As far as taste goes, this dish was super flavorful, and since I used a medium heat Ro*Tel, it had a good kick to it, too. My husband is pretty particular about recipes too, and he told me to add this to the (recipe) list. That’s when you know the recipe is a winner! 🙂

After flipping through Dinner for Two a few times, this book would make a wonderful gift this holiday season (it’s under $20 on Amazon right now). It’s perfect for anyone looking for quick and easy dinner ideas. I love that this book revolves around portions for two people…it’s just my husband and I, and we don’t need a ridiculous amount of leftovers we end up with after making some of my go-tos.

If you want more of a sneak peek of the book and to check out the recipes other bloggers are making out of Dinner for Two, check out Julie’s Virtual Date Night-In!

Beef Enchilada Rice Bake
Source: Dinner for Two cookbook

Ingredients:
  • 2 tsp. vegetable oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced (about 3/4 cup)
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced (about 3/4 cup)
  • 1 garlic clove, finely minced
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
  • 1/2 lb. 80/20 ground beef
  • 1 (10 oz.) can diced tomatoes and green chiles (Ro*Tel), drained well
  • 2 cups cooked white rice
  • 1/2 cup red enchilada sauce, plus more for drizzling
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded mexican cheese
Directions:
  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
  2. In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, add the vegetable oil. Once the oil is heated, add the onion, green bell pepper and garlic. Saute the mixture for 5 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the cumin, salt and black pepper.
  3. Place the beef into the skillet and thoroughly cook the beef, breaking it up into pieces with a wooden spoon or spatula.
  4. Stir in the tomatoes/green chiles, and remove the skillet from heat. Add in the rice to the skillet, and stir everything together until everything is evenly distributed. Stir in the enchilada sauce, until just incorporated.
  5. Place the mixture into a 2.5 quart oven-safe casserole dish. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the rice.
  6. Bake the casserole in the oven on the middle rack, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
  7. Carefully remove the casserole from the oven and drizzle on more enchilada sauce, if desired. Enjoy!

The generous publishers of Julie’s book want to offer one lucky reader of The Nifty Foodie a copy of Dinner for Two!

To enter for a chance to win a copy, use the Rafflecopter widget below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Note: This giveaway is supplied by the publisher and is open to readers in the continental US only. Entries will be accepted until December 16th, 2015 at 11:59pm (central standard time). Winner will be emailed (make sure you leave an email address in the form), and will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.  

Filed Under: Beef, Mexican, Pasta/Rice, Review

Grilled Corn Guacamole

July 28, 2014 by Amy 2 Comments

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, on behalf of Amaize Sweet Corn/Golden Sun Marketing. I was compensated for this post, and all opinions are 100% my own.

Grilled Corn Guacamole

Confession time. For the longest time, the types of corn I was familiar with was canned corn and frozen corn on a cob. I never thought to buy fresh corn from the grocery store, since those other types were what I really knew. I was pretty intimidated by fresh corn for a while, but after having freshly grilled corn a couple of years ago, I got hooked!

…

Read More »

Filed Under: Giveaways/Reviews, Mexican, Sauces/Dips

Pressure Cooker Pork Carnitas

July 24, 2013 by Amy 2 Comments

carnitas

Since we got our pressure cooker for Christmas, I’ve sadly only used it a handful of times. We don’t cook much for dinner anymore, since usually all we want after an evening gym work-out is a protein shake with lots of fruit. It’s kind of hard to stand up for 30 minutes – an hour when you’re feeling ravenous and your legs are also feeling like jello. So, usually our big meals are on weekends. When my husband came home from a conference, I decided to surprise him with some carnitas. I saw this recipe a while back on Table for Two and thought it would be nice to give this recipe a try in the pressure cooker, rather than cooking in the oven for a couple of hours. In the summer, this is so awesome, because you aren’t heating up your house for 2 hours. In Louisiana, the less the A/C has to work, the better.

This recipe came out beautifully, and I’m still so shocked at how perfect the meat cooked up in 20-ish minutes (once it reached pressure). I ended up freezing this in 1 lb. portions, because there was no way my husband and I were going to eat this much pork within a few days. However, for a party (maybe a taco bar?), this would be perfect!

Just to note: I’m going to type out the directions that I used for the electric pressure cooker (this is the one we own), however, for the conventional method, feel free to check out Table for Two’s post.

Pressure Cooker Pork Carnitas
Source: directions adapted from Table for Two, originally from Cooks Illustrated

Ingredients:

  • 4 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2″ cubes
  • 1 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 3/4 tsp. black pepper
  • 1 tsp. cumin
  • 1 onion, peeled and halved
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • 2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 medium orange, juiced and keep the spent halves

Directions:

  1. Place all of the ingredients in the electric pressure cooker (including the spent halves of the orange) and set the cooker to the “simmer” setting.
  2. Once the mixture has come to a simmer, cover the pressure cooker and seal it. Set the pressure cooker to the “high pressure” setting, and set the timer for 20 minutes. (Note: do not use a kitchen timer…it’s crucial to use the timer on your appliance since the timer starts when it reaches the desired pressure to cook.)
  3. Once the pressure cooker is done, allow the cooker to naturally release pressure before attempting to open the pressure cooker, and then uncover.
  4. Turn your oven on to the broil setting, and line a jelly roll pan with heavy duty aluminum foil. Using a slotted spoon, scoop out the cooked pork and place it on the foil lined pan. You can discard everything else (vegetables/aromatics) at this time, except for the cooking liquid. Turn the pressure cooker to the “brown” setting, which is high heat, and boil the liquid until it’s thick and syrupy (about 20 minutes).
  5. While the liquid mixture is heating, use two forks to shred the pork (and discard fatty pieces). Once the liquid mixture has thickened, add the pork back into the liquid and gently mix the pork into the liquid, to avoid breaking up the pork further.
  6. Using a slotted spoon, place the pork back on the lined pan, and place the pan in the oven under the broiler for 5-8 minutes. After that’s done, flip the pork and allow it to brown on the other side for another 5-8 minutes. Be sure to watch the pork carefully to ensure that the pork doesn’t burn.
  7. Serve immediately. You can also refrigerate (for up to 5 days) or freeze the leftovers.

 

 

Filed Under: Main Dishes, Mexican, Pork/Ham/Bacon

Taco “Cupcakes”

October 11, 2012 by Amy Leave a Comment


Taco Cupcakes

As you may know, I’m a big fan of tex-mex cuisine. I haven’t really enjoyed much of it, though, because I can’t really trust myself in a restaurant where I can just get a margarita within 2 minutes or mindlessly eat chips and queso (I swear, my stomach is a bottomless pit when it comes to chips and queso). It’s kind of sad how much I miss it, because really, it’s just food right? At least I try to tell myself that when I’m reaching for a Ben & Jerry’s pint at the grocery store.

I first heard about these “cupcakes” when I met Emily of Emily Bites at IFBC last year in New Orleans. Emily’s blog features healthier recipes, which I can really appreciate, so when I heard about them, I swore I’d make them ASAP. Well, I sort of forgot about this recipe, like I always seem to do, until my coworker mentioned them recently. (Random thought of the day: For some reason, I find it SO weird when I find out people I know are reading food blogs. I know blogs are usually very popular, but where I live, a lot of people are really unfamiliar with the concept of a blog.) Anyway, when she brought up how much she LOVED these things, I had to make them ASAP. Unfortunately, wonton wrappers were out of stock for about 2 weeks, which really stunk. I contemplated cutting egg roll wrappers, but eventually, I found a pack in the store. SCORE!

The night I made these, my husband kept asking what I was cooking. When I said taco cupcakes, I’m sure the poor guy was pretty darn confused. 🙂 When they came out of the oven, I quickly threw a few on a plate and scarfed them down. These are delicious! The crunchy wonton wrappers make it seem like you’re enjoying a crunchy taco, minus getting neck aches from leaning over to eat a taco. 😛 My husband was pretty darn surprised about the taste too, so these will definitely be a part of our regular recipe rotation in our house. Besides being tasty, while these cupcakes don’t seem that large, they are pretty darn filling too! Just a small note, though…the main thing that I changed was that I used corn instead of black beans (since I am not a fan of beans, personally). I’m sure they’re wonderful with beans too, and I imagine with beans, they’re even more filling!

Taco “Cupcakes”
Source: mildly adapted from Emily Bites

Ingredients:

  • cooking spray
  • 1 1/2 tsp. canola oil
  • 1/2 lb. 90% lean ground beef
  • 1 tbsp. taco seasoning
  • 3/4 cup canned corn, drained
  • 16 wonton wrappers (found in the produce section)
  • 5 tbsp. + 1 tsp. of queso (plus more for drizzling)
  • 1 cup chunky salsa
  • 1 cup reduced fat shredded Mexican cheese

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Prep your muffin tin by misting 8 of the cups in a muffin tin.
  2. Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Then, add the ground beef as well as the taco seasoning, and cook the meat, breaking it up with a spoon or spatula, until the meat is browned. Add the corn to the meat and cook the mixture (stirring often) for a few more minutes, until the mixture is warm.
  3. Gently push a wonton wrapper into the bottom of 8 of the muffin tin cups, and spoon a tsp. of the queso into the bottom of the wonton wrapper, using the spoon to spread the queso evenly along the bottom. Add some of the meat mixture into each cup (evenly using 1/2 of the mixture for all 8 of the muffin cups), and then add some of the salsa into each cup (evenly using 1/2 of the salsa for all 8 of the muffin cups).
  4. Sprinkle some of the shredded cheese (evenly using 1/2 of the cheese for all 8 of the cups). Then, gently push another wonton wrapper on top of the cheese, and layer the “cupcakes” the same way you just did (queso, meat mixture, salsa, shredded cheese) using the rest of the layering ingredients.
  5. Bake the “cupcakes” for 18-20 minutes until the wontons are golden brown. The tips of the wonton wrappers will get seriously dark while in the oven if you want the rest of the wonton wrappers to get pretty crispy. Allow the “cupcakes” to cool for 5 minutes before taking them out of the muffin tin. Feel free to drizzle them with more warm queso after baking. Enjoy!

 

Filed Under: Beef, Mexican

Taco Seasoning

September 26, 2012 by Amy 2 Comments

Taco Seasoning

When I was first learning to cook, I used to cook tacos all the time. I’d buy those little packages of seasoning mix and supper was figured out. The convenience was awesome. Then, I was just poking around Allrecipes a couple of years ago, and I saw “Taco Seasoning I” on the sidebar. I was totally intrigued, and made it that evening. I already had all of the spices for it, but the big question was did it taste as good as the seasoning packets I was so used to?

It did.

I love the idea that I can make my own taco seasoning, and the spices required for this particular one features fairly common spices. I also love that I know exactly what is in my taco seasoning, not to mention that it’s much cheaper to make this seasoning on your own.

I don’t use this for just taco seasoning. I also tend to use it when I make fajitas, I sprinkle a little bit in the blender before making salsa and use some of it when I’m making a quick salsa slow cooker chicken. It’s such a good seasoning blend for standard tex-mex dishes, in my opinion, and couldn’t be any simpler to throw together.

Taco Seasoning
Source: Allrecipes

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp. chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp. onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 tsp. dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp. paprika
  • 1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 tsp. sea salt
  • 1 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

  1. Add all of the ingredients to a bowl and mix them together, until the seasoning mix is well blended. Store in an airtight container.

 

Filed Under: Mexican, Spices

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Image Credit: Leslie Pendleton Photography

 

Hey y’all!

Thanks so much for reading! I’m Amy, and I live in south Louisiana with my husband and our rescue dog. I enjoy sharing my love for cooking, baking, crafts & more! Follow my daily adventures on social media!

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