Mom's Easy Weeknight Tacos con Carne
Mom's Easy Weeknight Tacos con Carne is a kid-friendly family meal using ground beef, smashed kidney beans, chili powder, and tomato sauce. This is a fast, easy, and nutritious meal using ingredients you can easily keep handy.
Ingredients
- 3 slices cheese American (cut in slices)
- 1 head ice berg lettuce shredded
- 1 large tomato thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef lean (or ground turkey or chicken)
- 15 oz kidney beans canned (rinsed, drained, and mashed)
- 8 oz tomato sauce canned
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- salt and pepper to taste
- 12 taco shells
Instructions
- Cut the cheese into strips (just like my mom did), or shred a block of cheese if preferred. Shred ice berg or Romain lettuce into thin strips. Slice tomatoes into thin pieces that you could pick up with your hands and put into the taco.
- Heat a saute pan over medium heat for a minute or two, add olive oil, then the ground meat to brown. As the meat is browning, drain and rinse kidney beans and mash them like potatoes. Once meat is browned, drain off any excessive oil leaving only 1 tablespoon in the pan. If using lean meat and there is no extra fat in the pan, there is no need to add any additional oil. Stir in mashed kidney beans, the 8oz. can of tomato sauce, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, salt, and pepper to taste. Heat until steaming and the flavors have melded.
- Heat taco shells in a 350 degree oven for 3 to 5 minutes. Be sure to use the cardboard piece in the first shell to keep it from collapsing.
- Build tacos by adding the meat and bean mixture to the warm shells and top with a slice of cheese, some tomatoes, and shredded lettuce.