Spiced up Puds and Salads too! (Meat)

Member Name: Sue Hoskinson

Product:	Meat
Date:	06/01/02 (96 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very easy and cheap to make.

Disadvantages: Can't think of any.

I thought I’d have another go at telling you about one of my favorite recipes that my husband created. It’s taken me a while to get round to it because I had the pleasure of my oldest sons company over the Christmas holidays, we haven’t seen him for nearly two years and unfortunately Dooyoo kind of took a back seat – sorry!

Before I give you the recipe I’d better fill you in on some background stuff just so that you don’t worry too much. Ed, my husband, is a chef and loves nothing better than messing around in the kitchen creating something new and unusual – we gauge how good it’s going to be by the amount of mess he makes during the process.

Mexican foods have been gaining in popularity recently; you only have to look at the different products that are being sold in your local supermarkets. Most of you will have probably seen the Old El Paso Taco Kits that you can buy; they’re easy to spot in their distinctive yellow and red packaging. Traditionally Tacos are served in a crisp shell but taste equally good if you wrap them in a soft tortilla, then you can call it a burrito. You can vary the meat by using chicken instead of beef – give it a try, I’m sure you’ll enjoy them!

Anyway, back to the recipe, this is something that Ed dreamed up about a year ago and has become quite a favorite with all of us. It’s not too spicy but it does have a little kick because of the chili that’s used in the seasoning. It doesn’t have a proper name so for the purposes of this opinion I’m going to christen it ‘Taco Puds’.
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Taco Puds a la Ed

You’ll need the following ingredients for this recipe:
1lb lean ground beef or veggie substitute
1 finely chopped medium onion
1 packet Taco seasoning (Old El Paso make a good one and it’s easily available in most supermarkets)
1 packet of 12 Yorkshire puddings
Gr
ated cheese

Firstly, preheat your oven to 180C/350F.
In a medium sized pan brown off your beef and get rid of the excess fat, we use 92% lean beef, which is great because it has very little fat. Next add in the onion and cook until it’s softened. Once you’ve done that, add the Taco seasoning according to the directions (all you have to do is add water to the contents and stir then simmer until most of the liquid has gone).
Arrange the Yorkshire puddings on a baking tray; they can even be used straight from the freezer, then spoon the beef mixture into them evenly. Sprinkle cheese on top and bake in the oven until the cheese has melted – usually about 5 minutes.

That’s it, finished and ready to serve. My lot loves this with macaroni cheese but you could serve it with almost anything you want and they’re great at informal parties as finger food.

You know whilst we’re on the subject of Taco beef, have you ever tried Taco salad? You haven’t, why not? It’s a lovely way to enjoy salad when the weathers not to brilliant and is wonderful in the summer when you don’t feel like cooking!
In case you don’t know this great salad, here’s how you make it.

Taco Salad

All you need for this recipe are the following ingredients.
1 batch of Taco beef (make it the same way as before)
1 chopped lettuce
2 or 3 chopped tomatoes
1 finely chopped onion
Tortilla chips (Doritos are great for this)
Cheese
Picante sauce (You can buy this in most supermarkets)

The amounts you use can be varied depending on how many people you’re making salads for, generally I find that one batch of Taco beef is plenty for 4 people.
Prepare all the ingredients in advance and save yourself some time – good motto! When you’re ready to eat all you need to do is place the salad into individual bowls like so. Firstly put some whol
e or crushed tortilla chips in the bottom of the bowl then put the beef on top of them. Next add some lettuce, tomatoes and onions; top off your wonderful salad with some cheese and a good helping of picante sauce, mix together and enjoy!
It’s messy and very tasty too. There are lots of variations on this salad that include adding black olives and using sour cream dressing instead of picante.

So there you have it, I really hope you like these recipes because I know that I do and so do my family.
The other good thing is that they can be adapted for our veggie friends to enjoy as well, I found out that the veggie substitute for ground beef is very versatile and should work really well although I can’t vouch for it because I’ve never tried it – I like my meat too much to give it up!

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