Also from Mel's Kitchen Cafe
Delicious and super easy. If you want to make it vegetarian, just don't add the meat for a really saucy rice with Mexican flavors. My non-meat-eater loved it. The dressing reminds me of the Cafe Rio dressing but easier to make. So good.
I doubled this to feed four missionaries and we still had plenty for us. I made a separate batch for the vegetarian and lots of leftovers.
Tacos:
1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef or ground turkey
1/2 c chopped onion
2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced or 1 tsp. garlic powder
6 oz can tomato paste
15 oz can tomato sauce
3 c chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 c long grain, basmati, or jasmine white rice
15 oz can black or pinto beans, rinsed and drained (to taste)
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp black pepper
Creamy Lime Dressing:
1 c buttermilk
1/2 c mayonnaise
4 oz cream cheese, softened to room temp
1/4 c fresh cilantro - more or less to taste
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
pinch of black pepper
Toppings:
Corn or tortilla chips, lightly crushed
Shredded cheese
Chopped lettuce
Chopped tomatoes
Sliced olives
Sliced or chopped avocados
Stovetop directions: In a deep 12" saucepan over medium heat, cook the meat, onion, and garlic with a pinch of salt and pepper. Break the meat into small pieces as it cooks; cook until meat is no longer pink. Drain excess grease and return to the heat.
Add the tomato paste, tomato sauce, broth, rice, beans, chili powder, cumin, salt, paprika, oregano and pepper. Stir well to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook for 30-35 min until the rice is tender. Stir often and moderate heat to prevent sticking.
Vegetarian directions: In a saucepan over medium heat, heat the onion and garlic with a pinch of salt and pepper for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant. And then add the rest of the ingredients (see above) and cook for 20-25 minutes until rice is tender.
Slow cooker directions: Brown the meat, onion and garlic the same as above. Transfer the mixture to a 5 quart slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well to combine. Cook on low for 4-5 hours or high for 2-3 hours.
For the dressing, combine all of the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Best if made a day (or several days) in advance.
Serve the taco meat over crushed chips and top with toppings of your choice.
Comments
Post a Comment