I mentioned the other day that Evie really likes to help out in the kitchen now. Currently we let her stand in her highchair near the island, but I really need something I feel a bit better about her standing on… note to self must find a step stool with really high sides to keep her safe when helping. The other evening we made our oven baked taco cake and I had a few inquires as to what it was, so I thought I’d share because it is a very easy toss together sort of meal.
Ingredients
– ground beef (about a pound and a half)
– taco seasoning
– peppers
– cheese or Tostitos cheese dip
– refried beans (optional)
– soft tortilla shells (large ones)
– guacamole
– sour cream
Directions
– preheat your oven to 350 degrees
– cook the beef up and add in the taco seasoning like you would when preparing for usual tacos.
– I like to use a round spring form pan as it fits the tortilla shells perfectly. Place one shell on the bottom of the pan and spread on refied beans, and the cheese or cheese dip onto it all the way out to the edges of the shell. The cheese dip gives a creamy and a bit more spicy flavour to this dish. On top of this add peppers and some beef. Not all the beef because you want enough for each layer.
– Now add on another shell and start over. You are layering the ingredients. I like to do about three layers of this and top it off with one more shell to hold it all in.
– Put the taco cake into the oven to bake for 20 minutes, this helps melt the cheese and warm everything.
– Let cool for a couple minutes before serving. I take off the spring form side, and flip the taco cake onto a cutting board so that it is easier to cut and I don’t wreck the spring form pan. Slice it like you would a cake and serve with guacamole and sour cream on the side to dip into. You could even sprinkle some shredded lettuce onto it if you wanted to or serve with a salad on the side.
It had been a couple of years since I made this, both my hubby and my toddler loved it! If you have left overs this dish tastes great the next day as the flavours become even better over night I think. Let me know if you try it, and what your family thinks.
Thanks for sharing the recipe! My family really likes tacos so I’m going to try this.
Have you looked on Pinterest for ideas for a toddler kitchen stool? There’s one that uses an Ikea stepstool as a base and you just need to add sides to it. My cousin made one for his daughter and posted a how-to video on youtube. He lives on Texas, so the prices for a Canadian project would be a bit different, but it’s a lot cheaper than buying something.
You have a cute lil’ helper. We’ll have to try out that recipe.