Ground Beef Fajitas

 

Ground Beef Fajitas

I was looking for a recipe to use a pound of ground beef that I had in the freezer that wasn't burgers, spaghetti or meatloaf. So I of course went to BudgetBytes, that's usually my main source of recipes. I hadn't seen this one before, and we literally all the ingredients so I thought....perfect!

It's super quick and easy. Instead of making the fajita seasoning, I just used 2 1/2 tbs of the Kinders fajita seasoning that we had, and I didn't have fresh lime so I just used a little bit of the bottled stuff. Oh I also warmed the tortillas in a pan and sprinkled some Monterey Jack cheese on them after because I had it to use up.

I loved it, my son said it was good and my husband just said "it was salty". Sigh. He doesn't really like anything too different, like he loves actual fajitas, but he said he'd never heard of anyone ever using ground beef for fajitas. He says it's "too cute" to make anything a bit creative. I get it, but I want to use up some stuff we already had, so I'm seeing how much cooking I can do without buying groceries. Plus honestly, I love finding and trying new recipes. I get that from my grandma, she rarely made anything twice unless it was requested. 

I would definitely make this again, and I think it would also be super good in a rice bowl or even over greens as a salad.

Click here for the Ground Beef Fajita recipe from BudgetBytes

Pork Tacos

 

Pork Tacos

So this started out being Easy Pork Carnitas, but I kept not being able to make dinner because of the baby....so Craig ended up just smoking the meat with seasonings. I think he used a fajita seasoning and some sort of chipotle seasoning. It was really good! So I just made tacos with cheese, lettuce, cilantro, onions and Cholula Chipotle Cremosa sauce. Super good and flavorful!

Here is the recipe for Pork Carnitas from Damn Delicious that we were going to make 

 

Sheet Pan Tacos

These look like a mess but they were tasty. I didn't warm the tortillas quite enough before I filled them because some of them split, but they stuck together fine after cooking. I did make 2 changes to the recipe, I used lean ground beef and instead of rotel I used some of my husbands homemade smoked salsa. They were really good and my son loved them, and his friends came over the next day and had some too. My husband wasn't hungry so he didn't try them. I'd make them again for sure!

Click here for the recipe from BudgetBytes

EveryPlate Quick Sweet Soy-Glazed Chicken Tacos

 

Quick Sweet Soy-Glazed Chicken Tacos

Terrible quick picture because baby wanted to nurse!

These were really good even though I overcooked the chicken a bit so it was kinda dry. Also I ran out of mayo for the slaw, so I added sour cream. I also ran out of sour cream lol so we used a tbs less then the recipe called for. Honestly next time I'd only use 2 out of the 4 tbs called 4 so it was less creamy and a bit more fresh. It was still really good though and we all liked it. My husband and I added sriracha. I've been really impressed with EveryPlate every time we've tried it, I've been reluctant to go back to Hello Fresh because of how many AI recipes and premium recipes there are.

 

Healthy Girl Gorditas

 

Healthy Girl Gorditas

This recipe is from Makayla Thomas, it's lower calorie high fiber etc. I really liked it, but my husband did not. He didn't like the pita bread on the outside since it was kinda bland....which I get. I served it with a side salad just because I needed to use it up. They were actually super filling gorditas! I would make this again for me but probably not for the fam.

Click here for Makayla Thomas' recipes

EveryPlate Cheesy Southwest Beef Tacodillas

 

EveryPlate Cheesy Southwest Beef Tacodillas

Not a very pretty picture, but I only wanted one lol. These are delicious of course, I mean who doesn't love taco meat in a quesadilla. Plus homemade salsa and a lime crema. The only changes I made were that I had cilantro already chopped so I added that to the salsa, plus a little garlic. My husband said they're "too cute" of course, but he should be happy that he has a homemade meal lol. 

My only complaint is that they did NOT add enough cheese for all those tortillas! If I only used what they sent, each tacodilla would only get a tiny sprinkle. I added cheese we already had so we could actually taste cheese. 

Every Plate Shawarma-rama Beef Tacos

 

Every Plate Shawarma-rama Beef Tacos

We had a coupon to try out Every Plate so why not! I guess it's really just Hello Fresh? This recipe was okay, it was a little bland. Maybe it was the cucumber/tomato salad that could of used more flavor. Next time I'd add some onion and maybe more salt and lemon zest. The meat was okay.....idk I felt like something was missing.

The zucchini was just some from the garden that I tossed in a buffalo ranch seasoning with garlic and air fried at 400 for 12 minutes. 

Smash Burger Tacos and Corn paired with White Cheddar Shells & Cheese

 

Smash Burger Tacos and Corn paired with White Cheddar Shells & Cheese

I really liked this! I am writing this before I know if my family liked it, so I'll have to update so I can see if I should make this again. That's why I started this blog, to keep track of recipes I've made so I can remake favs. I have a terrible memory lol.

I would of preferred different pickles though. I only had Frank's Red Hot Dill Pickle Chips. Which sounds amazing in theory, I love Frank's. I go through several bottles a year even.  But these pickles aren't that great, I'm not sure what it is. Too much of a vinegar & cayenne flavor? I'm really not sure because I like those flavors too. Regular dill pickles would be better and I won't buy the Frank's pickles again.

So I actually made 8 tacos instead of the 6 that the recipe called for. After adding all the toppings there was plenty of meat on each one. I rolled the meat into 8 balls, then rolled them into salt and pepper and gave them a bit of a roll more. Then I squished them onto the flour tortillas, street taco sized. I might try to put the balls straight onto the pan then squish the tortilla on top next time.

I also used cheddar instead of provolone and I forgot to buy shredded lettuce so I just tore up some spring mix. Since the recipe only called for 2 tacos a person I also plated some leftover corn and I made a box of Annie's White Cheddar Shells & Cheese that I added pepper and garlic to. 

Click here for the Smash Burger Tacos recipe from Heartbeet Kitchen

Grilled Tacos with Street Corn & Cilantro Lime Rice

 

Grilled Tacos with Street Corn & Cilantro Lime Rice

   This was really easy and it was pretty good. It was inspired by a few random quick dinner TikTok videos. I needed to use less beans in the tacos so more meat and cheese could fit. The dipping sauce was useless and bland we we didn't dip. Maybe if it had time to sit or something it would be better. The corn is a frozen street corn mix from Target, and the rice was a cilantro lime rice that was microwaveable. But it's pretty low calorie, high protein and fiber.

Ingredients:

- 1 lb ground beef

- 1 can fat free refried beans

- 1 jalapeno chopped

- 1 onion chopped

- shredded cheddar

- zero carb street taco tortillas

- 1 bag frozen street corn

- 1 packet microwaveable cilantro lime rice

- dipping "sauce" was beef broth, sriracha and garlic

   Brown ground beef then add 2 tbs taco seasoning and 1/3 cup water. Sauté the jalapeno to soften. Mix refried beans with some sour cream, garlic, cumin, chili powder and hot sauce. Spread some refried bean mixture on street corn size tortilla, then top with some ground beef, onions, hot sauce, cheese and jalapenos. Toast on a heated skillet. 

Chicken Caesar Tacos

 

Chicken Caesar Tacos

These were fine, kinda bland. I did just crumble the ground chicken instead of making it a smash taco so maybe that's why. I was just too tired to deal with it. I did add some pepperoncini hot sauce, which isn't very hot but it added some flavor. I'd probably make them again because I love caesar salad, but I'd definitely go look up some ideas to doctor it up.

Click here for the recipe for the Smash Chicken Caesar Tacos from Basics With Bails

Baja Fish Tacos

 

Baja Fish Tacos

Recipe from Lauren McDuffie's "Homemade-ish" book. These were so good! My tortillas were a little too small for the fish fillets but it worked. I layered avocado with this amazing street corn sauce, then the fish, then topped it with the slaw. My only change from the recipe was that instead of the mayo/hot sauce mixture for the sauce I used this street corn sauce I had. I LOVE that sauce. It reminds me of the quesadilla sauce from Taco Bell. Smokey, creamy, and not fake tasting like a lot of bottled sauces are. 

I would definitely make these again! The corn was just this Easy Skillet Roasted Corn by Borrowed Bites. This was last moment because I remembered we have extra frozen corn and I keep forgetting to use it up. I'd make this recipe again too.

Hello Fresh Sante Fe Pork Tacos

 

Hello Fresh Sante Fe Pork Tacos

I liked how quick this was, and there was tons of food for 3 people. It did taste good but it wasn't anything too special. It needed more cilantro, there was barely any. I did heat the tortillas on a pan instead of microwaving them, and I liked the leftovers a lot better actually! I definitely underfilled the first ones that I took a picture of, I wanted to make sure there was enough for all of us. But there is plenty so I could of filled them a lot fuller. 

Hello Fresh Citrus Pork Tacos

 

Hello Fresh Citrus Pork Tacos

   These were just okay, I love tacos but I don't know they just had an odd flavor. Maybe it was the citrus I don't like? My husband didn't care too much for them either. They were fine but not one we'd order again. I liked the idea of pickling the onions with lime & a little sugar! It was also super fast so I love it just for that lol.

Crispy Bean Tacos

 

Crispy Bean Tacos

    The recipe calls for black beans but my husband wont eat black beans so I substituted pinto beans. The store was also out of chipotle in adobo so I added in some diced green chilis instead. It was a little too spicy for me but I thought they were delicious. No one else really liked them though :(  The top picture was baked in the oven and they fell apart more (even though I steamed the tortillas) and the ones on the bottom picture I had air fried. Air frying works much better. I air fried them at 400 for less then 10 minutes. The dipping sauce was just sour cream with salsa and taco seasoning. 

   Click here for the recipe for Crispy Black Bean Tacos from Plays Well With Butter

Dorito Tacos with Refried Beans and Mexican Rice

Dorito Tacos with Refried Beans and Mexican Rice

   I didn't take an actual picture of the meal, because I make the Dorito tacos when I need a quick dinner so it's nothing special. But this time my son has friends over so I made some sides to stretch the meal, and actually everyone loved them and I was surprised because they were so simple. 

  I used this recipe for Mexican rice by Seeded at the Table. Normally we aren't a huge fan of Mexican rice but this was really good. 

  I had a can of fat free refried beans and a can of pinto beans, so I pretty much made this How To Make Canned Refried Beans Taste Better recipe. The only thing I did different was that I didn't add the half and half and I added a splash of lime juice. 

  
 

Easy Fish Tacos with Cumin Lime Slaw and Rainbow Salad with Lime Crema

 

  I made these Easy Fish Tacos with Cumin Lime Slaw and as a side I made Roasted Sweet Potato Rainbow Salad with Lime Crema.  

  Everything was so so good! It took forever because I'm a slow cook but I'll definitely be making these again. Lots of veggies and clean ingredients covered with a lime crema? Yes please! This was a big hit in our house.

Cheesy Taco Turkey Rollup

                                   Cheesy Taco Turkey Rollup
                                                                     3 Points on Blue

I was out shopping and got hungry, and I really just wanted to run through Taco Bell since it was right there. But I was almost done so I drank a bunch of water and made this when I got home. It definitely had that cheesiness that I was wanting.

Ingredients:

-  Ole Mexican Foods Xtreme Wellness! High fiber low carb tortilla wrap. 1 point.
-  1/4 cup taco seasoned ground turkey. 0 points.
-  Salsa. 0 points.
-  Tapatio hot sauce. 0 points.
-  1 slice Velveeta cheese. 1 point.
-  1 tbs jarred queso or stadium cheese. 1 point.
-  A couple slices of lettuce. 0 points.

Wrap everything inside the wrap and enjoy the much healthier alternative to fast food cheesy tacos.

Taco Seasoned Ground Turkey:

- 1 lb 99% fat free ground turkey. 0 points.
- 1 packet of taco seasoning. Or do what I do and just throw random taco seasonings into the ground turkey. i.e cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.

  Cook in a skillet over medium heat until cooked through.