Beef Taco Bake

This is a good old super easy standby casserole.

3/4 to 1 lb ground beef (or you can use ground turkey)
1 -15 oz. can tomato sauce
1/4 cup rice milk
1 cup chunky salsa  (We use Pace mild.  You can up the spice by using Medium or Hot salsa).
8 corn tortillas, cut into 1 inch pieces
Shredded Daiya cheese, or cheddar cheese
Sour cream, optional
Avocado, optional
Corn chips, optional

Heat oven to 400° F.  Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, drain.  Add tomato sauce, rice milk and chopped tortillas.

Spoon into a 2 qt baking dish.

Cover and bake for 30 min. or until hot.  Top with Daiya cheddar style shreds, optional sour cream, and avocado.  Serve with optional corn chips.

This picture has regular cheddar cheese and sour cream.  

Hannah put Daiya on her serving, but ate it before I could get out the camera.

Fish Tacos

Some like it hot, some like it not so hot!

I made these fish tacos the other night for the whole family.  I used Ian's Gluten Free Fish Sticks for Hannah's tacos.  I used Van De Camp's fish sticks for the rest of us (much less expensive).  I have also made these with tilapia or cod battered and fried, but that was not Hannah food safe.  One time, Kim, my husband, made the Pico De Gallo recipe that follows.  The other night, I used a store bought fresh Pico De Gallo from the produce cases at Fred Meyer.  In both cases, the jalapeno pepper in the Pico De Gallo was little much for Hannah and Emily, her younger sister. The picture above has the store bought Pico De Gallo on it.  I suggested to Hannah the next time we have fish tacos, maybe she would just like to use salsa on her taco.  So if you can't handle the heat of a little bit of jalapeno, just use your favorite salsa!

1-2 tacos per person is a good rule of thumb.  3 tacos if you have big eaters.

Needed for 1 Taco:
1 corn tortilla
3 fish sticks, cooked
Shredded cabbage
Pico De Gallo (recipe follows or fresh from the store) or salsa of your choice
White Sauce (recipe follows)
1/4 lime to squeeze over all

The Pico De Gallo, if you make it yourself: (Makes enough for 8-10 tacos)
1 medium tomato, diced
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (wear gloves!)
2 sprigs fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 green onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

White Sauce:  Makes enough for 8-10 tacos.  Half the recipe to makes enough for 4-5 tacos.
1/2 cup Follow Your Heart Vegenaise, Soy-Free or Earth Balance Mindful Mayo made with Olive Oil
1/2 lime, juiced
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. dried dill weed
1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 a head of cabbage will usually make enough cabbage for 8-10 tacos.

To soften the tortilla:
Prepare a plate with paper towels ready to layer between each tortilla as it comes out of the oil.
Heat a saute pan to medium-high heat.  Add about 1 T. oil.  Heat.  Carefully place one tortilla into the hot oil. Cook only about 15 seconds, carefully flip with a flat spatula, cook another 15 or so seconds, just enough to soften and warm the tortilla. Cook it too long and it will get too crisp.  Remove the tortilla to a paper towel on the plate, cover with another paper towel to prepare for the next tortilla.  Repeat the remaining tortillas.

Assemble:
Take a softened, warmed corn tortilla.  Place 3 fish sticks in the middle, add cabbage, pico de gallo, white sauce and squeeze of lime.  Fold up and enjoy!

Enchilada Casserole with Rice

A dairy free version of Enchiladas, serve shredded cheese and sour cream on the side if desired for those who choose to eat dairy.

3/4 to 1 lb ground beef or ground turkey
1/2 c. chopped onion, optional
1/2 c. chopped black olives, optional
1/2 to 1 c. refried beans, optional
10 oz. La Victoria Enchilada Sauce, 1/4 cup reserved for rice if desired
8-10 corn tortillas
Guacamole, optional

Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Brown ground meat and onions over med-hi heat in a skillet.  Stir in olives, refried beans and enchilada sauce, reserving 1/4 cup of the sauce for rice if desired.
Grease a small casserole dish, about the size of the tortillas.  Add just a thin layer of ground meat mixture to cover the bottom.  Place a corn tortilla on top of meat mixture.  Add another thin layer of meat, then another corn tortilla.  Repeat until casserole dish is full and all meat mixture is used up. Finish with a ground meat layer.  Carefully, so you don't wash away the top layer of ground beef, add 1/2 to 2/3 cup water over the top, more if you used 10 tortillas, less if you only used 8.
Bake 30 min.
Serve with rice, guacamole, shredded daiya cheese (contains yeast) or cheddar cheese(contains dairy), and sour cream (contains dairy).

To make Rice: Combine 1 cup rice with 1/4 cup enchilada sauce and 1 3/4 cups of water in a nonstick saucepan.  Bring the rice and liquids to a boil over high heat.  Cover.  Reduce heat to low.  Simmer, covered for 15 min.  When rice is done, there with be small holes throughout the rice.  Fluff it up with fork, serve with Enchilada casserole.