Taco Tuesday

It's time for another Taco Tuesday. Today's offerings include Chicken Lettuce Tacos with Pickled Strawberry Salsa and Buffalo Turkey Tacos. Enjoy!

VEGAN TACOS

This recipe is by Taqueria Los Gorditos and was in the September 2009 issue of Bon Appetite. Makes 6 servings.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1/2 onion, sliced

2 teaspoons chopped seeded jalapeño chile

1 12-ounce package soy chorizo (sometimes labeled Soyrizo), casing removed

1 15.4-ounce to 16-ounce can vegetarian refried black beans

12 corn tortillas, warm

Diced onion

Chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add sliced onion and jalapeño; sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add soy chorizo and cook until beginning to brown in spots, stirring often, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook beans in heavy small saucepan over low heat until heated through, stirring occasionally.

Stack 2 warm tortillas for each of 6 tacos. Spread scant 2 tablespoons beans over each stack. Top with soy chorizo mixture, dividing equally. Sprinkle with diced onion and cilantro.

BEST TACO CASSEROLE

This is from ANDREALF63 in allrecipes, and begins, "This taco casserole with ground beef and tortilla chips is easy to make and very tasty. I often substitute with ground turkey and low-fat dairy products, and it's still delicious! Serve this casserole with chips, salsa, and green salad."

Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 1 hour; Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes; Servings: 6; Yield: 1 9x13-inch casserole

To view this online, go to https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/20680/easy-mexican-casserole/.

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef

2 cups salsa

1 (16 ounce) can chili beans, drained

3 cups tortilla chips, crushed

2 cups sour cream

1 (2 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained

1/2 cup chopped green onion

1/2 cup chopped fresh tomato

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

Gather all ingredients.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 9x13-baking dish with cooking spray.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir ground beef in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 8 to 10 minutes.

Stir in salsa, reduce heat, and simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Stir in beans; cook until heated through.

Spread crushed tortilla chips over the bottom of the baking dish; spoon beef mixture on top. Spread sour cream over beef, then sprinkle olives, green onions, and tomatoes on top. Cover with Cheddar cheese.

Bake in the preheated oven until hot and bubbly, about 30 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!

Recipe Tip

Some reviewers say they like to add a packet of taco seasoning to the meat while it cooks for extra flavor. If you go this route, try our top-rated Homemade Taco Seasoning!

BEEF TACOS DORADOS

This yummy recipe is from Camelia Valdivia Carnero and adapted by Kristina Felix in The New York Times cooking enewsletter. For this recipe, Kristina wrote, "Crispy tacos dorados are standard weeknight fare all over the U.S. and Mexico, though every cook seems to take a slightly different approach to the recipe. This version comes from Camelia Valdivia Carnero, whose family has lived in the town of Ojinaga in Chihuahua, Mexico, for six generations. Instead of cooking the filling, crisping tortillas separately to create shells and then stuffing them, many locals there collapse the process into one simple method. Seasoned beef goes straight on a tortilla and is fried in oil until the shell is crisp and the beef is cooked through. No crumbly beef falls from your taco here; instead, an albondiga-like filling keeps these deliciously crispy packages intact, and a jalapeño-forward salsa de molcajete cuts through the richness with bright heat. To complete your meal the way generations of Ojinagans have, pair tacos dorados with a classic sopa de fideo. For a traditional vegetarian option, you can also fill tortillas with lightly seasoned mashed potatoes and, using the same technique, fry until golden."

This recipe was featured in You Barely Need a Recipe for This Weeknight Dinner. That’s What Makes It Timeless. It can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/779812287-beef-tacos-dorados. While you're at it, if you haven't already signed up for The New York Times cooking enewsletter, I highly recommend doing so. Great recipes, guides, and more.

Ready in: 1 hour 10 minutes; Yield: 16 tacos

Ingredients

For the Salsa (or use 1 cup store-bought salsa taquera)

1 garlic clove, peeled

Fine salt or food-safe rock salt

6 jalapeños

2 plum tomatoes

For the Tacos

16 corn tortillas (see Tips)

Vegetable oil, such as canola or sunflower, for shallow-frying

1 pound ground beef

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 teaspoons seasoned garlic salt or 1-1/2 teaspoons garlic salt

1/2 cup chopped cilantro, tender leaves and stems (not packed)

1 large ripe Hass avocado

2 plum tomatoes, sliced into half-moons

1/4 small green cabbage, shredded (about 2 cups)

Crema or sour cream, for serving (optional)

Preparation

Make the salsa: Place garlic on a cast-iron skillet and heat over medium-high until it chars in spots, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a molcajete (mortar) or blender along with a teaspoon of salt.

Add the jalapeños and tomatoes to the hot skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and charred all over, about 10 minutes, then transfer to a cutting board. When the tomatoes and chiles are cool enough to handle, about 5 minutes, peel off as much of the charred skin as you can and discard the skin, seeds and stems.

If using a molcajete, pound the garlic and salt to a paste with the tejolote (pestle). Add the jalapeños and crush them until they’ve broken down and look juicy. Add the tomatoes and continue to mash everything until the salsa is spoonable. (If using a blender, add the tomatoes and chiles to the jar with the salt and garlic and pulse to a spoonable consistency.) Taste for salt, transfer to a serving bowl and set aside.

Make the tacos: Separate the corn tortillas if they’re stuck together. If they’re brittle, stack them, wrap in a damp paper towel, set on a plate belly up (see Tips), and microwave on high for 2 minutes, or until warm and pliable.

Make sure your cast-iron skillet is clean and dry, then pour in enough oil to reach a depth of 1/2 inch. Heat over medium until it reaches 350 degrees or a small piece of tortilla sizzles when dropped in the oil, about 6 minutes.

While the oil heats, assemble the tacos: Add the beef, black pepper, garlic salt and cilantro to a bowl and mix with your hands until the cilantro is evenly distributed. Spread a generous tablespoon of beef on half of a tortilla, belly up (see Tips), leaving a 1/4-inch border, but don’t fold it just yet. Place it flat on a sheet pan or cutting board and repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling, overlapping them but keeping the beef uncovered.

To fry the tacos, place a large bowl lined with paper towels near where you are frying. Take one filled tortilla and fold it in half. Hold the upper part between your thumb and middle finger, using your pointer finger to create a small gap between the two sides of the tortilla. Place the seam of the tortilla into the hot oil and hold it there until the tortilla seam softens, about 5 seconds, then carefully lay the folded tortilla into the oil, beef side down, to finish frying. Repeat with as many tacos as fit comfortably in your pan and cook until the undersides of the first batch are golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Using tongs, flip the tacos and cook until crispy and golden, another 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the fried tacos to the bowl, standing them vertically so any oil drains downward. Repeat until all the tacos are fried.

To serve, cut the avocado in half and remove the pit. Arrange the avocado halves, tomato and cabbage on a plate with a spoon so that everyone can open their tacos and scoop a bit inside. Serve with plenty of salsa de molcajete on the side and crema if desired.

Tips

Look for corn tortillas that contain only 2 ingredients: corn and lime. Tortillas with added gums will not fry up as crispy, though the tacos will still be delicious.

Tortillas have a belly and a back, the belly generally shows oven lines more prominently and has a thinner skin that might pucker. Fill tortillas on the side with the thinner skin so they don’t crack when you fold them.

BEEF TACO SALAD

This comes from Judy Kim on Delish. According to Delish, “Judy Kim is a NYC-based food stylist, recipe developer, and photographer. She also writes recipes for her website The Judy Lab.

For this recipe, Judy wrote, “Try a healthier twist on Taco Tuesdays.” Total Time: 20 minutes; Prep Time: 5 minutes; Level: Easy; Yield: 4 servings.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef

kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp. Taco Seasoning

2 tbsp. tomato paste

vegetable oil

2 corn tortillas, cut into 1/4" strips

2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped

cherry tomatoes, halved

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 c. shredded Cheddar

1 c. Pico de Gallo

sour cream

1/4 c. Chopped cilantro

Directions

Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Brown beef using a wooden spoon and break up meat into small pieces. Add 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, taco seasoning, 2 tablespoons water, and tomato paste. Cook through, about 5 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside.

In a sauté pan add about 1/2" of vegetable oil. Heat until hot but not smoking. Fry tortilla strips until golden brown; transfer to a plate lined with paper towels. Season tortillas with salt just after removing from hot oil.

Assemble salad in 4 bowls with romaine, tomatoes, black beans, and warm taco meat. Top with cheddar cheese, pico de gallo, and sour cream. Garnish with cilantro and crisp tortilla strips.

BUFFALO TURKEY TACOS

Source: Jennie-O

Recipe Yield: Makes 8 servings

To view this online, go to https://diabeticgourmet.com/diabetic-recipes/buffalo-turkey-tacos

Ingredients

1 (16-ounce) package JENNIE-O Lean Ground Turkey

1/3 cup hot pepper wing sauce

8 hard corn taco shells, heated as specified on package

1 cup shredded lettuce

2 tomatoes, diced

1 avocado, sliced

1/2 cup blue cheese dressing

Directions

Cook turkey as specified on package. Always cook to well-done, 165F as measured by a meat thermometer.

Add hot pepper sauce. Stir to combine.

Fill tacos shells with lettuce, turkey mixture, tomatoes and avocado.

Drizzle with blue cheese dressing.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 220; Fat: 13 g; Saturated Fat: 4 g; Fiber: 3 g; Sodium: 260 mg; Cholesterol: 45 mg; Protein: 14 g; Carbohydrates: 13 g; Sugars: 1 g

CHICKEN LETTUCE TACOS WITH PICKLED STRAWBERRY SALSA

This is from the May 2016 issue of Runner’s World, and can be found here.

This one begins, “Using crisp lettuce as a taco base adds fresh flavor and shaves off calories. The vinegar soaked strawberries infuses the salsa with sweet, briny taste and special antioxidants shown to bolster heart health by improving cholesterol numbers.”

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. granulated sugar

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 cup cider vinegar; more as needed

2 cups halved strawberries

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 lb. lean ground chicken

1/2 cup chopped mint

2 tsp. lemon zest

1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered

1 yellow bell pepper, diced

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

8 large lettuce leaves, such as Boston

Instructions

In a glass jar, stir the sugar and 1/2 tsp. salt with 1/4 cup boiling water until dissolved. Add the cider vinegar and let cool to room temperature. Add the strawberries and more vinegar if needed to cover berries. Seal lid and let stand for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 day in the refrigerator.

In a large skillet, bring coconut milk, garlic and 1/2 tsp. salt to a simmer. Stir in chicken and simmer until meat is no longer pink, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in mint and lemon zest. Season to taste with salt.

Remove strawberries from brine and toss with tomato, yellow pepper, scallions and jalapeno.

Divide chicken among the lettuce leaves and top with strawberry salsa. Serves 4.

Nutrition Information: Calories per serving: 221; Protein: 22 g; Carbs: 12 g; Fiber: 3 g; Sugar: 6 g; Total fat: 10 g; Saturated fat: 3 g; Sodium: 360 mg