Baked Tacos

We really love tacos in this house. We'll turn anything into a taco flavored version of the original - taco pizza, taco salad, you name it! Tonight, we just wanted plain tacos. We've always had soft tacos. For some reason, I've never made hard shell tacos in the entire 10 years Matt and I have been together. Come to find out, the corn taco shells actually have a lot less carbs in them than the soft flour tortillas. I think we'll be making these a lot more often now!

I got the idea to bake the tacos from a friend. And they turned out great! I hope you like them.

Baked Tacos
Makes: 4 servings

8 corn taco shells
1 lb ground beef, turkey, or chicken
taco seasoning
1 cup shredded cheese such as cheddar or Monterey Jack
Taco toppings such as lettuce, tomatoes, scallions, salsa, hot sauce, etc.

• First, bake the empty taco shells so they get warm and crispy. Place the taco shells on a baking sheet and bake at 325° F for 5 - 6 minutes.
• While the shells are baking, brown up the meat in a skillet on high heat until thoroughly cooked and no longer pink, about 4 - 5 minutes. Stir in the taco seasoning and remove from the heat.
• Remove the taco shells from the oven, stuff them with the taco meat, then top them all with shredded cheese.
• Place the tacos back in the oven for about 2 - 3 minutes until the cheese is melted.
• Top with your favorite toppings!

Open-Faced Cowboy Burger

I had to find a way to use the left-over ciabatta bread from my BLAT sandwiches. What a terrible problem to have hehe. Ciabatta bread makes such a nice home for a cheeseburger. And so, the cowboy burger was born!

Open-Faced Cowboy Burger
Makes: 4 burgers

1 lb lean ground beef
salt
cracked black pepper
onion powder
garlic powder
2 ciabatta rolls
4 slices cheddar cheese
4 slices bacon
barbecue sauce
burger toppings such as lettuce, tomatoes, onions, etc

• Cook the bacon until crispy (see my tip for perfect crispy bacon). Set aside.
• Form the hamburger into four patties. Sprinkle the patties with some salt, pepper, onion, and garlic.
• Grill the hamburgers until well done and no longer pink. Meanwhile, cut the ciabatta rolls in half and place them on the grill to toast.
• Place a slice of cheese on each burger about one minute before they are finished cooking to allow time for the cheese to melt.
• Top each ciabatta roll with desired toppings such as lettuce, tomato, onions, etc. Then top with the cheeseburger, then barbecue sauce, then bacon. Serve!

I know I say this every time I post about hamburgers, but it's because it's important. Click here for an explanation on why you should always cook ground beef to well done.

Black & Bleu Cheeseburgers

Cheeseburgers? Again? Yes!

Cheeseburgers can be a really easy weeknight meal and totally customizable. If you mix up the flavors, it won't seem like you're eating the same thing all the time. Here are a few of my favorite ways to customize a burger.

Add-ins (added right in to the ground beef): onions, garlic, peppers, cheese, worcestershire sauce, steak sauce.
Spices (sprinkled on top of the burgers before cooking): cajun seasoning, steak seasoning, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder.
Toppings: guacamole, avocado slices, bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayo, aioli, mushrooms, onions, peppers, various cheeses (pimiento cheese, bleu cheese, cheddar, havarti, gouda, pepper jack, fresh mozzarella, etc).

Black & Bleu burgers are a favorite of this family.  But if bleu cheese isn't your thing, you can leave it out and the burgers are still great on their own with the cajun seasoning!

Black & Bleu Cheeseburgers
1 lb lean ground beef
4 oz crumbled bleu cheese
1 tsp cajun seasoning (a.k.a. blackened seasoning)
5 slices american cheese
5 hamburger buns

• Mix the crumbled bleu cheese into the ground beef. Be careful not to over-mix or this will cause the burgers to come out dense and dry.
• Form the beef into 5 even patties.
• Sprinkle the cajun seasoning on both sides of each burger.
• Grill on medium high heat until cooked well-done.
• Remove from heat and place a slice of american cheese on each burger.
• Serve on toasted hamburger buns.

I'm almost embarrassed to call that a recipe because it's so ridiculously easy. But it can be easy to get stuck making the same things all the time. I hope this inspired you to revamp some of your go-to recipes.

See this article for an explanation of why you should always cook your hamburgers well-done.

French Onion Soup

French onion soup is one of my favorite go-to's for lunch. It's especially great during the winter time. What's really great about it too is that it's a relatively low calorie lunch - if you don't add all the croutons and cheese! Alas, I don't have that kind of will power haha. So here's my high-cal comfort food version...

French Onion Soup
2 Large yellow onions
2 Tbsp butter (I use Smart Balance)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tsp dried thyme
1 Bay leaf
1 Tsp cracked black pepper
4 Tsp beef base
8 Cups water
Balsamic vinegar
Garlic croutons
Melty cheese like provolone, mozzarella, Gruyere, etc.

• Cut the onions in half, then cut into strips.
• Add the butter, olive oil and onions to a large stock pot.
• Cook the onions over medium low heat for about 30 minutes until caramelized, stirring occasionally. This step does take patience and there's no way to speed up the process. It is critical that you do not add any salt. Salt will cause the onions to release their liquid which will hinder the caramelization process.
• Once the onions are caramelized, add the thyme, bay leaf, pepper, and beef base. If you've never heard of beef base, it's similar to bouillon but way better. You can find it just about anywhere, even Walmart.
• Give the onions and spices a good stir, then add the entire 8 cups of water.
• Continue to simmer, uncovered over low heat until the liquid has reduced by half, about 10 to 20 minutes. You can not skip this step. If you do, the soup will taste watered down. You may notice that the recipe calls for twice as much water as actually needed, that's why you need to simmer away half of the water. If you're wondering why we don't just start with 4 cups of water and skip this whole step, the short answer is that simmering out some of the water (also called "reducing") will give a soup or sauce a richness and depth of flavor that can't be achieved any other way. Just like caramelizing the onions, this step takes patience. Cranking the heat up to a boil to speed up the process will ruin the soup for sure.
• Once the soup has reduced and the flavor has reached the right concentration, remove the soup from the heat. Fish out the bay leaf. Give the soup quick splash of balsamic vinegar to brighten up the flavor a little bit.
• That last step would drive Matt insane. He's a very pragmatic kind of guy who requires empirical measurements. If you're like Matt and you absolutely must have an exact measurement, I'd say add about 1 teaspoon of vinegar - just a splash haha.
• Portion the soup into 4 oven-safe soup bowls or ramekins. Top with garlic croutons and cheese. Melt under the broiler until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown.

I didn't happen to have any wonderful provolone or Gruyere at the time this photo was taken. So, I used whatever I could find in my refrigerator which was pizza cheese. Don't judge me.