Category: tacos

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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deep south tacos

I am not making a traditional taco tonight. I am taking inspiration from a salad I had and putting that in taco form. Fellow Hispanics…please don’t take my Mexi card. Experimenting with food is fun! 🙂

First things first…I did a little prep yesterday so that dinner would come together quickly tonight. I prepared a 3 lb. pork shoulder by sticking it in my Instant Pot along with a pouch of my kids applesauce and 1/2 cup of water, set the manual timer for 85 minutes and let that cook. No salt…no pepper…no other spices. After 85 minutes, I shredded the pork (which was very easy since it was cooked so tenderly) and let it cool completely before refrigerating.

I also made some pickled red onions. There are so many ways to make pickled onions, but take it from lazy me…this is the easiest:

pickled red onions

  • A small red onion, thinly sliced
  • A pinch of salt
  • Distilled white vinegar
  • Apple Cider Vinegar
  • A mason jar
  • 1 cup boiling water
  1. Take the thinly sliced red onions and put them in a strainer. Over the sink, slowly pour the boiling water over the onions giving them a quick blanch.
  2. Place the onions in the mason jar with a pinch of salt. Next pour half apple cider vinegar and half distilled vinegar over the onions to cover.
  3. Let them cool at room temperature, then cover with a lid and refrigerate. Good for two weeks in the fridge.

deep south tacos

makes a lot of tacos – save the rest of the pork for another meal

  • cooked pork shoulder, shredded
  • corn tortillas – see TIP below
  • Fresh kale, chopped
  • Pickles, diced – reserve some pickle juice
  • Ranch dressing
  • Pickled red onions
  • Queso fresco – optional
  • Cilantro – optional
  1. Get a corn tortilla on a plate and place some pulled pork in the center.
  2. Add the shredded kale on top.
  3. Combine 2 tablespoons of ranch dressing with 1 tablespoon of pickle juice. Drizzle this over the kale and pork.
  4. Sprinkle the dill pickles and pickled red onions over.
  5. It’s tasty enough this way, but you can also sprinkle queso fresco and cilantro over as well.

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