this week we decided to do an assemble-your-own-taco bar. i love tacos, but lately my pants have been fitting a little tighter than usual. i wanted to lighten up the meal without turning it into diet food (because apparently, diet food is not football food). so, borrowing the idea from the asian lettuce cup appetizer, i decided to offer lettuce leaves as an alternative to tortillas. notice i said alternative, since the geek loves tortillas (and his pants are fitting just fine).
for our football grub, i also used ground chicken instead of ground beef, either could be used here. inspired by the variety of textures in the minced chicken filling for pf chang's lettuce cups, i added corn and black beans to the meat and crushed corn chips as a taco bar topping.
the taco seasoning recipe was adapted from the beef taco filling recipe in cooking texas style by candy wagner & sandra marquez.
equipment:
salad spinner (or you can rinse the lettuce leaves ahead of time and dry them/store hem in a zip-top back wrapped in paper towels)
ingredients:
for the taco meat:
- 1 lb ground chicken
- half a white onion, diced
- 1/2 tablespoon canola oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 can southwestern corn (corn, black beans, red bell peppers), drained
- 3 stalks green onions, sliced or snipped
1 large head of iceberg lettuce
taco bar topping:
- salsa or pico de gallo
- guacamole
- tomato, seeded and diced (we used 1 large tomato)
- shredded cheese (we used a cheddar/jack blend)
- sliced olives (we used 1 small can)
- sour cream
- green onions (use what's leftover from the taco meat recipe)
- crushed corn chips
- refried beans (made these for the geek, see note below)
- other toppings you could use...
- jicama, thinly sliced
- cilantro, roughly chopped
- melted nacho or queso cheese
- sliced jalapenos
- prepare the lettuce cups by removing the outermost leaves, cutting off the stem at the bottom (or using the drop-it-on-the-counter method described on here) and cutting the head in half. remove the inner core leaves and save them for a salad or a pet rabbit or something. rinse the large leaves and either drain well in a colander, pat dry with paper towels, spin in a salad spinner, or any combination of these methods. if prepping ahead of time, wrap leaves in a paper towel and store in an airtight container or plastic bag.
- prepare taco meat ingredients by combining the flour, chili powder and salt in a small bowl. in a separate bowl or prep dish, combine the cumin and garlic powder. measure the water and set aside.
- in a large skillet or pot, heat the oil over medium heat. add the onions and saute for a few minutes until softened. add the ground meat and saute until brown and crumbly; drain grease/liquid.
- return the pan to the stove and sprinkle the flour-chili powder-salt mixture over the meat. stir to evenly distribute the seasoning. add the water and cumin-garlic powder mixture and stir to combine. bring the liquid to a simmer and continue cooking until sauce is thickened. stir occasionally so the mixture does not stick to the pan.
- once the sauce has thickened, add the southwestern corn mixture and stir to combine. reduce heat to low-medium and let the mixture heat through. add the green onions prior to serving.
- to serve as part of an assemble-your-own-taco bar, transfer the meat mixture to a serving dish and serve with assorted topping options.
notes:
- we tried both green leaf and iceberg lettuce and the iceberg had a better texture and was easier to use.
- lettuce too girly? have a tortilla or a taco shell.
- the mixture could also be eaten over tortilla chips with melted cheese.
- the geek is more of a bean and cheese guy, so he had refried beans, cheese, and taco meat in a warmed tortilla.
- rather use a fork? tear the lettuce into bite-sized pieces and make a taco salad.
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