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How to Make Taco Bake – Without a Recipe

You are about to find out how to make Taco Bake without a recipe. For our Sunday lunch yesterday I decided to keep it simple and make Taco Bake. What is Taco Bake? Read on!

My friend Pam shared this with me many years ago. Thank you, Pam! Am I ever excited that she is moving across the country and will be a whole lot closer to me! (and a few other people).

Taco Bake is a simple casserole that is very filling and easy to adjust to your preferences. It is made with ingredients we keep on hand almost all of the time. Rice, beans, taco seasoning, meat and/or chicken and cheese. Have leftovers? Here is a great use for them. This is how I make Taco Bake without a recipe.

You may want to lightly coat your pan with oil or spray it with cooking spray.  Any size pan will do depending on your family size. I choose my pan based on how many will be here to eat. If this is going to be a weeknight dinner I will use my 13X9 pan because James is always happy to finish the leftovers. Yesterday I used my giant heavy-duty 1/2 sheet cake pan I have used for years and years because I was expecting a family crowd.

Ingredients:

Rice, refried or cooked pinto beans, taco seasoning, meat and/or chicken, and shredded cheese.

Layer 1

First I layer cooked rice not more than an inch deep. You may use white, brown, long-grain, short-grain, whatever type you prefer.

Layer 2

Cooked taco meat or chicken. Have you noticed the price of beef? I was so shocked at the cost of the cheapest ground beef that I almost made it with chicken. In the end, I decided to combine ground turkey and beef. Cook the meat and drain and season it with taco seasoning. Spread this over the rice layer. This time I used 3 lbs. of ground beef and 3 lbs. of ground turkey.  You can use any leftover turkey, chicken, beef, etc. Or make it vegetarian.

Layer 3

Refried beans or as I usually do cook some pinto beans or use some leftover ones.

 Don’t know how to cook beans? 

Layer 4

Cover the top with shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese.

Bake in the oven at 350° until it is hot and bubbly and the cheese is melted. Now you are ready to enjoy it!

FREEZER MEAL – After Layer 4 you can cover it with a layer of plastic wrap and heavy-duty foil, label, and freeze. When you get ready to use thaw and uncover and follow the regular instructions.

Beans
Beans
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Once a Month Cooking

Once a Month Cooking, Freezer Cooking
Once a Month Cooking, Freezer Cooking.

Many years ago, in fact, it was October 1991, I remember the time very well. I decided to try Once a Month Cooking, some call it Freezer Cooking. I assume that most people have heard of this but just in case let me explain. You plan your menu, shop, and cook your dinners and freeze them for the month. For me, this turned out to be a huge money and time saver. You may need more hours in the day or you may need more money at the end of your pay period. This worked well for me. All of my experience with Once a Month Cooking was for a large family. I recently had the opportunity to help a family member put meals in the freezer for her parents who were experiencing some health problems. I had considered recreating my original recipes from the 1990’s and compare prices with today’s prices. I haven’t had the opportunity to do that yet but I may soon. I did have the opportunity to do this for two people. It was a bit of a challenge to figure out just how much food two people would need. Even though most of my family are grown now I still cook for  5 people most of the time and we have leftovers. So this was an experiment.

This is what I cooked.

3 Chicken Pot Pie

3 Chicken Broccoli Casserole

3 Italian Pasta Bake

3 Black Bean Soup

3 Chicken Fajitas and Rice

3 Taco Bake

3 Cheesy Stuffed Shells

3 Cabbage Casserole with beef

3 Beef Veggie Soup

 

Total Cost Including freezer containers:   $118.20

Pretty good! Have you tried freezer cooking? If so share your experiences with me.

 

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New Lentil Tamale Pie

Have you ever eaten lentils? If not, this is your opportunity!  I do not remember eating lentils until I was an adult. I have made Lentil Tamale Pie (original recipe below) for years and I have really been wanting lentils. I decided to create a new Lentil Tamale Pie and this is what I came up with.

 

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup gluten-free flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cumin

2 cups water

2 cups frozen corn

2 cups lentils, cooked

2 cups shredded cheese (Mexican blend, cheddar, or jack) DIVIDED 1 cup for topping

1 cup chopped turkey or chicken (great use of leftovers)

2 eggs

10 oz. red enchilada sauce

1 cup chopped onions

Mix the first 5 ingredients and then add all but 1 cup of cheese.  Pour into an oiled pan. I thought this would fill a 13X9 pan but it was too much. I ended up with a 13X9 pan and a 9-inch loaf pan.  Bake 350 oven for 1 hour. Enjoy! You may want to top with chopped tomatoes, cilantro, salsa, green onions, sour cream, black olives, etc.

Original Lentil Tamale Pie (from Pam Liebelt)

1 Onion, chopped

1 cup lentils, cooked

2 ½  cups water

2 cups canned tomatoes or tomato sauce

1 can corn (do not drain)

2 eggs beaten

1 cup grated cheese

1 cup cornmeal

Chili powder, cumin, salt to taste

Optional: 1 can olives, chopped; 1 can jalapeno peppers, 1 can green chilies, chopped

Combine all ingredients. Pour into a greased 9X13 pan. Bake 350 for one hour. Serve with sour cream or yogurt, chopped green onions, salsa. Or you may choose to pour into a gallon freezer bag and freeze for later.  If freezing remove the bag from the freezer and thaw and then follow the regular instructions for baking.

Let me know if you have another favorite lentil recipe!

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Cooking Without Recipes

I enjoy looking in my fridge or for that matter other people’s too! I have a friend who likes me to cook with her. So when I am at her house we look in her fridge and pantry and create something from what we find. We have a lot of fun in the kitchen pounding chicken breasts and cutting up veggies. I have been creating meals using whatever was on hand since childhood. It helped that I grew up on a mini farm and we had a lot of choices. Although sometimes too many cucumbers 🙂 We didn’t run to the store all the time either. I love to cook and sometimes I get in my head a certain thing I want to cook. It may not make sense at the time if I have a fridge full of food and meals which have been planned.  I try to practice self-control. This year we have been blessed to meet Farmer John! He is new to farming and has tried several things. We take some of whatever he has. As the season is nearing an end I was looking at what we had purchased from Farmer John and decided to create some meals using those things.

I did not write down a recipe but I will share what I did do. I did NOT measure anything.

First I will share the ingredients I had. Mini eggplants, zucchini, onions, green peppers, fresh basil, store-bought pasta sauce, ground beef, mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, rice, etc.

Preheat the oven 350°. I cooked the ground beef with onions, green peppers, and mushrooms and drained it after it was done. I placed pasta sauce in the bottom of two pans. Then to one pan I added a layers of slice baby eggplants, zuchini, meat mixture, sauce and cheese. On the top I spread sauce and mozarella and sprinkled the top with paremsan. I baked it in the oven for a while and then took it out and covered it with foil. I cooked it for about an hour total. I wish I had covered it from the beginning and taken the foil off for the last 15 minutes. I also wish I had added more sweet basil. It turned out YUMMY!!

 

For the second pan. I cut the tops off of the green peppers I had and cleaned them out. I placed them in the bottom of the second pan. I added some cooked rice to the leftover meat mixture and stuffed the peppers with the mixture. I then covered them with sauce and sprinkled with parmesan. I baked it in the oven at 350° for almost an hour. Remove the foil. (See I learned something !) Sprinkle more parmesan on top! Enjoy!

 

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Easy Red Chicken Curry with Vegetables

I have really been craving curry. I really wanted to run out to the store and get all my favorites to make it. That is not usually the most economical way for me to cook or shop! My Esther challenged me to make it with what I had at home!  I searched through my cabinet, fridge, and freezer and this is what I came up with. I must say that I have a new found love for coconut milk and I’ve been looking for yummy reasons to use it. My husband is gluten-free so this is something he too can eat. So using what I had on hand this is the recipe I created. It was so easy and yummy that I will definitely do this again. This could easily be a great way to experiment and use up leftovers from your fridge and create something totally new.

Easy Red Chicken Curry with Vegetables

3 cooked and chopped chicken breast

1 bag of frozen cauliflower, broccoli, carrot blend (steam in bag) steamed for 4 minutes

1 red onion chopped

3 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup chopped colorful bell peppers

1  can of coconut milk (13.6 oz.) or more if you like

Red curry paste 2-3 Tablespoons

1 Tablespoon of chopped jalapenos

Cilantro – Chop a few sprigs and sprinkle on top or stir in

In a skillet saute the onions, garlic, and peppers in a bit of olive oil. Add your veggies and chopped chicken. In a small pan heat, your coconut milk with the curry paste added to it. After it is heated pour the coconut milk mixture over the chicken veggie mixture. Heat through. Serve hot in bowls!

Now I’m challenging you to create something from what you have on hand! Share with me what you create!

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Leftovers

There are many ways to save time and money on groceries. One way is to cook the right amount! And throw away less. I hate throwing food away! But sometimes even with the best of intentions, you will end up with leftovers. Or maybe you save money by cooking ahead and having “planned overs”. I do both.

Today I looked into my refrigerator and realized I had leftover white beans. I knew I had to make something with these or freeze them. I decided to make my version of White Bean Chili. I did not measure anything. I heated the beans and I stirred a couple of spoonfuls of Better Than Bouillon into them as well as two cans of chiles. I had a couple of chicken breasts which I quickly boiled on top of the stove and chopped in my little Ninja. I stirred it all together and voila’ White Bean Chili!

I would like to encourage you to be creative with your cooking as well as with your use of leftovers! In all my years I only remember one creation from leftovers that we had to throw away! So as Miss Frizzle would say, “take chances, make mistakes, get messy!” You may discover something great!