Category: ground beef dishes

dos tacos – beef & squash

Last week I was on a health kick, and now I am back to normal…ha! I love Mexican food! It is part of my heritage and also big here in Texas.

I made a Tex-Mex taco with ground beef and spices and I also made a squash and onion taco which is my new favorite. I actually prefer it over the meat version and I feel quite satisfied!

The squash I used looks like a zucchini however it’s smaller, wider and has a lighter green color with white stripes. Sometimes called a tatuma squash, you can commonly find it in stores also called Mexican squash.

Mexican or Tatuma Squash

Here’s how I made the tacos:

squash tacos

makes 5-6 servings

  • 1 Mexican squash, diced
  • 1/2 a red onion, diced
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • Tortillas for serving, I used corn
  • Queso fresco & cilantro for topping
  • In a skillet heat up a teaspoon of olive oil.
  • Add the diced red onion first and let is brown slightly.
  • Then add the diced squash in. Season the onions and squash with salt and pepper to taste.
  • Serve on a taco with a sprinkling on queso fresco & cilantro!

beef tacos

makes 5-6 servings

  • 1 lb. ground beef, I use 85/15
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • Shredded cheese, diced tomatoes and cilantro for topping
  • In a skillet add the olive oil and ground beef.
  • Add all four spices to the beef and brown completely.
  • Serve on a taco with a sprinkling of cheese, tomato and cilantro!

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stuffed poblano peppers

I love when I can find new ways to cook with the same old meats. Well I’ve got a pound of ground beef that needs to be cooked up so tonight we’re going Mexican with stuffed poblano peppers.

Did you know…most grocery stores label the poblano pepper as a “pasilla pepper?” So just know that if you see a pepper that looks like this, it’s most likely a poblano.

Poblano peppers otherwise known as Pasilla peppers

stuffed poblano peppers

makes 4-8 servings

  • 4 poblano peppers
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 red onion, diced
  • 1 cup shredded cheese
  • For topping: cilantro, avocado, sour cream, tomatoes and jalapenos – all optional

Did you know…that poblanos are on the greener side of the Scoville scale when it comes to heat? The Scoville scale measures the heat of all known peppers we eat. Poblanos come in at about 1,000-2,000 SHU’s.

  1. Slice the poblanos in half and remove the seeds.
  2. On a baking dish, drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper inside the peppers.
  3. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees and then remove and set aside.
  4. Add the olive oil to a pan over medium heat and add the ground beef.
  5. Sprinkle in the spices and let the mean brown.
  6. Add in the onion to soak up the flavor of the beef.
  7. Stuff the poblanos generously with the beef mixture and top with cheese.
  8. Place in the oven to warm through and melt the cheese. About 5-10 minutes.
  9. Remove and top with your favorites!

You can watch how I make it here!

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taco bowls

I used to be able to eat a whole bag of skittles for breakfast, a can of coca-cola, Frito pie with a side of rectangle pizza for lunch and then two servings of dinner back in high school. Did I have a gut or cellulite any where in sight? No. Those were the good old days.

My girls are still younger than high school aged kids but they eat as much as teenagers do, and I definitely let them indulge. Tonight I made taco meat for them in flour tortillas and with loads of cheese. But as a lighter option for my husband and I, I made taco bowls.

Essentially, I replace the tortilla with lettuce and feel good about what I am eating. Here’s how to make it:

Taco Bowls

makes 4 servings

  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • 1 cup white rice cooked (see below for how I make rice)
  • Lettuce of your choice
  • A few grape tomatoes sliced
  • Sour cream for dolloping
  • Queso fresco or feta cheese to taste
  • Slice of lime for squeezing
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  1. Place your ground beef in a pan with no oil. Season with salt & pepper and add the cumin, chili powder, paprika and garlic to the pan.
  2. In the meantime, cook your white rice (see below)
  3. In a serving bowl add a bed of lettuce.
  4. Top with a helping of cooked white rice.
  5. Once your meat is browned and cooked through scoop a generous portion onto the lettuce and rice and top with tomatoes, avocado & cilantro.
  6. I like to add a dollop of sour cream, crumbled queso & a squeeze of lime on top to make it that more special.

How I Cook Rice

Something you will get to know about me, is that when I am cooking for my family, I rarely measure. Even if I am following a recipe, my normal routine is to add a little of this and a little of that.

I watched my mother cook rice and now I do it this same way.

  1. I put a pot on medium heat and add about a tablespoon of my favorite cooking oil.
  2. I add the dry rice in and let it saute in the oil, stirring frequently. You don’t want the rice to burn.
  3. Once I smell the toasted rice and see it has a beautiful golden flavor, I add some water to cover and stir. I do not put the lid on the pot.
  4. Optional: if you wanted to make flavored rice, I add my flavorings here. Maybe a chicken or tomato bouillon cube. For the taco bowls I left the rice plain but added a little salt.
  5. I continue to stir occasionally and add water as needed until rice is cooked al dente.

Please follow me @aimeesapron on Instagram for more recipe ideas daily!https://www.instagram.com/aimeesapron/