Taco Pitas

I'm not very photogenic.

Neither are ground beef and cheese.

I tried my hardest to display the true tastiness of this meal.

These were so good that they made me break my cardinal rule: Do not make the same thing for supper twice in one week.

(As soon as Andy reads this, he's going to think we can have pizza 2-3 times a week again...not happening.)

Here's my new favorite way to stuff pitas:

Taco Pitas (4 servings, 40 min)

1 lb ground beef

1 package taco seasoning (or 3 TB homemade)

1/2 can diced tomatoes, undrained (a standard can is about 10 oz, so you need about 5 oz)

1/3 c water

1 c shredded Mexican cheese

1 green pepper, chopped

8 pita halves

1. Brown ground beef in skillet over med-high heat. Drain. In skillet, add taco seasoning, tomatoes, and water to ground beef. Mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered 15 min or until thickened. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350.

2. Fill pita halves with ground beef mixture. Top beef mixture with cheese and green peppers. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 10 min or until cheese is melted.

Notes:

*This recipe is extrememly versatile. You can add onions or any toppings you'd like. You can also substitute diced tomatoes with green chilis or even salsa in place of the tomatoes.

*I usually halve or even quarter this recipe. I also cut the amount of ground beef in half and it still tastes great and provides plenty of filling for the pitas.

*I prefer whole wheat pitas with this recipe. Of course, I'm biased toward homemade ones.

VERDICT:

Cost: $4.10

Overall:

I have to thank my mom for this recipe. It's staying in our rotation! These pitas are full of flavor and so easy to eat! I loved how the ground beef didn't make a mess all over my plate. This recipe's staple ingredients make it an easy meal to pull together at the last minute, especially when I have frozen pitas on hand.

My inspiration: Mom

For my recipe ideas, visit Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

Tortilla Chips

Someone should start a blog: 365 Tasty Things to do with Ground Beef. I would be a huge fan.

Because ground beef is cheap, and tacos get boring every single week (I should know, I made them every week for months.)

Variety is good.

So are these homemade tortilla chips. They're are a great alternative to taco shells and complement salsa, too.

Homemade Tortilla Chips (Varies, 15 min)

Flour tortillas

Oil cooking spray

Salt

1. Preheat oven to 400. Lay out tortillas on cutting board. Spray each one with cooking spray. Sprinkle tortillas very lightly with salt.

2. Turn tortillas over. Spray again with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt.

3. Place tortillas in a stack. With a pizza cutter, cut stack into four wedges or quarters.

4. Lay quarters on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 6-8 min or until crisp.

Notes:

*Easy on the salt! You can also use seasoned saltor Mexican seasoning.

*Tortillas can also be cut in eights for smaller chips.

*Chips can be cooled and stored in airtight container or plastic bag.

*Use as many tortillas as necessary. I generally use 2 tortillas for each person.

VERDICT:

Overall:

Homemade wins. They are much healthier since they are baked instead of fried and have less salt and oil. That does make them less addictive, though.

Homemade tortilla chips are cheaper than a bag of chips or storemade taco bowls. They work great for taco salad or tacos, although they are a bit messy. They are simple to make. My 2 year old loves helping!

My inspiration: American Heart Association Kids' Cookbook

Spanish Rice

Spanish rice or Mexican rice?

What's the difference?

IS there a difference?

After spending 15 minutes on Google, I gave up. Everyone has a different opinion. The most educated-sounding answer was that true Spanish rice contains saffron and Mexican rice contains cumin.

That came from Yahoo! Answers, so don't quote me on that.

But it sounded smart.

Anyways, here's some great Spanish rice.

Or should it be Mexican rice?

VERDICT:

Cost: Home

Convenience: Store

Taste: Home

Health: Home

Overall:

Homemade wins again. Browning the rice keeps it from becoming a mushy mess. Chicken broth adds SO much flavor. This is such a quick and easy recipe. I'm a Rice-A-Roni lover, but I think I have to concede to the homemade side. Aside from chopping the onion and pepper, it takes the same amount of time as Rice-A-Roni...plus it's minus all the random ingredients like MSG in Rice-A-Roni. Two thumbs up here. (Andy won't touch any form of rice, crazy man.)

Spanish Rice (4 LARGE servings, 30 minutes)

2 TB oil

1 c uncooked white rice

1 onion, chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

2 c chicken broth or stock

1 10 oz can diced tomatoes and green chilis (do not drain)

1 tsp chili powder, to taste

1/2 tsp salt

Dash cumin, to taste

1. Heat oil in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Saute rice, onion, and pepper until rice is brown.

2. Stir in broth and tomatoes. Add chili powder, salt, and cumin.

3. Cover and simmer 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Stir occasionally. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Notes:

*You can replace the broth with water, but I view the broth as the "magic ingredient".

*Rumor is that brown rice or minute rice can be used. Just adjust the cooking time.

*I keep chopped green pepper frozen, so I just toss in a handful.

My inspiration