Beef Tacos, Nachos, and Burrito Bol? Yes, please!

Courtesy of Plated Perfection

 Nick had his eye on the ground beef in the fridge and suggested tacos for dinner tonight. My response, "I concur." I knew I had all of the ingredients at home, and you can't beat that! After making the tacos and running out of corn tortillas, I came up with two other ways to finish off the ground beef/meal. Nick wanted to involve chips, so I made him nachos. As for me, I must say, I'm a religious follower of Chipotle and their burrito bol. I gotta say that this was a pretty close combination and will definitely suffice if I'm ever in a pinch and can't get to Chipotle! I suggest making this and then letting everyone decide how they would like to eat their meal: tacos, nachos, burrito bol, all of the above? YES.

Ingredients
*1 pound ground beef
*half of a yellow onion, diced
*1 large clove of garlic, minced
*few dashes of salt, pepper, ground cayenne pepper, paprika, dried oregano, cumin (I was out of cumin)
***I apologize for the "few dashes" instruction, but I literally just tossed some in of each and did some taste testing.
*approximately 1/4 cup chopped tomatoes (I prefer them a bit more crushed)
*juice of half a lime
*corn tortillas (however many you prefer)
*chopped lettuce (for toppings and the burrito bol)
*shredded mexican blend cheese (for toppings)
*sour cream (for toppings)
*homemade salsa (recipe previously posted on blog -- for toppings)
*tortilla chips (for nachos)

Ground Beef
In a skillet, brown about a pound of lean ground beef (I get 90/10) with the garlic and onion, over medium to medium-high heat. Once the ground beef browns, toss in the spices, as well as the tomatoes and lime juice. Mix together and stir over low heat to keep warm. This meat was lean enough to where you did not need to drain it, or add any water. This may need to be adjusted depending on the ground beef you use.


Tacos
Toast the tortillas on both sides over a low open flame if possible. Top with ground beef mixture, lettuce, salsa, cheese and sour cream.

Nachos
Top tortilla chips with the ground beef mixture and cheese. Melt in the microwave for about 1 minute. Top with salsa and sour cream.

Burrito Bol
Top shredded lettuce with the ground beef mixture, cheese, salsa, and sour cream. I actually prefer to then mix this together with a fork, but that's personal preference :)

Chicken Lime Tacos

I decided to make salsa this past weekend, which was listed previously on the blog (if you're interested). Making salsa usually leads to me trying to think of different ways to use it with dinner...or even to top off my Chipotle Burrito Bol (on those occasions where I have to satisfy my craving). In any event, I decided this go around I would make my own version of tacos, but with shredded chicken! I must say, these were yummy with or without the corn tortilla.

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts 
2-3 splashes of red wine vinegar
½ lime (juiced)
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
(6 inch) flour tortillas
¼ cup Monterey jack cheese
¼ cup salsa
Sour cream

Boil the chicken breasts in a pot of water with salt and pepper to season. This should take approximately 25 minutes. Once done, let the chicken cool and shred (I do this by hand). Add a little oil to a pan and sauté shredded chicken in the pan for about 5 minutes over medium heat with the following: vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, garlic and oregano. To warm the tortillas, place them over a low flame on the gas stove (if you have a gas stove). Once the tortilla begins to bubble, flip. Add chicken mixture to each one evenly. Top with cheese, sour cream and salsa.

Carne Asada Tacos with Pico de Gallo

Courtesy of Cooking Light (believe it or not)

I fell in love with this recipe and highly recommend making it with steak (as featured here), but it is also very good with some grilled tilapia or halibut.  This is my healthy alternative of going to get Chipotle (also cheaper and probably higher quality ingredients)!

Ingredients

• 1/4  cup  fresh lime juice (about 2 medium)
• 1  (1-pound) skirt steak, trimmed
• 1  teaspoon  ground cumin
• 1/2  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  ground red pepper
• Cooking spray
• 1  cup  diced seeded plum tomato
• 1/4  cup  diced red onion
• 3  tablespoons  finely chopped fresh cilantro (not the end of the world if left out)
• 1  tablespoon  diced seeded jalapeño pepper (optional)
• 1  tablespoon  fresh lime juice
• 1  garlic clove, minced
• 3/4  cup  diced avocado (about 1 medium)
• 1/4  teaspoon  kosher salt
• Tortillas (I use flour personally, but corn can be used too)

Combine 1/4 cup juice and steak in a shallow dish. Sprinkle cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and red pepper over both sides of steak. Cover and marinate in refrigerator for up to 3 hours (I recommend at least 30 minutes). Heat grill pan over high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add steak to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Let stand at least 10 minutes. Cut steak into 1/2-inch pieces. Combine tomato and next 5 ingredients (through garlic) in a bowl. Gently stir in avocado and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Heat tortillas over gas flame 15 seconds on each side or until charred on edges. Divide steak evenly among tortillas. Top with pico de gallo. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream, if desired.

Note: This go around, I mashed up the ingredients a bit more so it was more like a guacamole topping. I also did not have cilantro at home, so I left it out this time. The pico de gallo is also delicious on its own.