Baked Tacos

We love Mexican and I'm always looking for a new recipe to try.  This is a fairly healthful meal, as long as you use portion control (I would estimate that each taco is approximately 300 calories) and add lots of green veggies on the side.  I served the baked tacos with steamed broccoli, but sauteed greens or a salad would be great too.  These were a huge hit!  My toddler LOVED them because they didn't crumble or fall apart.  The taco stayed crispy, but also stuck together more like a quesadilla.  The addition of refried beans made the meat filling creamy and satisfying.  Definitely making these again - maybe even this weekend!

Happy Cooking!
Sarah

Baked Tacos
Recipe adapted from http://mommyimhungry.blogspot.com/2012/11/oven-tacos.html
1 lb ground chicken
1/2 small onion diced
1/2 small can diced green chilies
1 T plus 1 tsp taco seasoning (I used a homemade recipe - listed below)
1/2 cup water
1 (8 ounce) can low sodium tomato sauce
1/2 (16 ounce) can fat free refried beans
1 cup shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese
10 hard taco shells
optional toppings - shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, sliced black olives, salsa, guacamole or diced avocado, light or fat-free sour cream

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  In a large non-stick skillet, cook the ground chicken and onion over medium-high heat until chicken is cooked all the way through and the onions are translucent.  Add the chilies, refried beans, tomato sauce, water, and taco seasoning.  Mix well and cook for a few minutes until mixture thickens up, about 5-10 min. (I did this step about an hour before we ate, and the mixture thickened up even more as it cooled down)

Browning the meat and onion

After you add the other ingredients

After the meat mixture thickens up...it got even thicker than this

Stand the taco shells up in a baking dish.  Spoon about 1/4 - 1/3 cup of the taco meat mixture into the taco shells and sprinkle with 1-2 T of cheese.  Bake at 400 degrees for 7-10 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the tacos shells have browned along the edges.  Remove from the oven and top as you wish.  Below you will find pictures that guide you along the last few steps...yummy!!!  Enjoy!

The finished product. So tasty!

Taco Seasoning
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl. Store in an airtight container.
(I used about half of the mixture in this recipe - 1T plus 1 tsp)

Homemade taco seasoning