Freezer Friendz: Taco Bake by Missy

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Taco Bake by Missy

What you need!
1 pkg. (14 oz.) KRAFT Deluxe Macaroni & Cheese Dinner
1 lb. ground beef
1 pkg. (1-1/4 oz.)Taco Seasoning
Mix 3/4 cup Sour Cream
1-1/2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese,
divided 1 cup salsa of your choice

Make It!
HEAT oven to 400°F.
Prepare Dinner as directed on package. While Macaroni is cooking, cook meat with taco seasoning as directed on package.
Stir sour cream into prepared Dinner; spoon 1/2 into 8-inch square baking dish.
Top with layers of meat mixture, 1 cup cheese and remaining Dinner mixture; cover with foil.

BAKE
15 min.;top with salsa and remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, 5 min. or until cheese is melted.

Prep Time: 15 min Total Time: 35 min Makes: 6 servings, 1 cup each

As you can see...i did not layer this dish. I mixed the noodles, seasoned meat, and sour cream together. After baking that for 30 min (or until warmed and bubbling) you will then add the salsa, cheese, and crushed tortillas chips until the cheese is melted (5-10 min.)...Enjoy!!

When freezing this meal I under cooked the pasta by about 3 min and added the seasoned/cooked hamburger and sour cream together. I then placed that into a freezer bag. I separately bagged the salsa and cheese and crushed tortilla chips and combined all bags into a large freezer bag. Just to let you know, if you taste the tortilla chips after the thawing process they may seem a bit chewy and stale...the baking process crisps them up...no worries!

6 comments:

MelJuly 20, 2009 at 1:11 PM
Missy,
We all really liked this meal! Sour cream on the side was great with it too. YUM! Thanks.
Mel
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AnonymousAugust 6, 2009 at 5:33 PM
This was an OK meal. The adults liked it, the kids ate it, but didn't care for it. We think the tortilla chips and tomatoes scared them off. Picky eaters. Thanks.
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katieAugust 10, 2009 at 9:11 PM
Delicious! Everyone loved it! We added more salsa and kicked it up with some jalapanos! Thanks Missy!
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AnonymousAugust 12, 2009 at 4:43 PM
Our family did not care for this meal. We tried to put more chips and salsa on it, but the kids were still not lovin it.
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MagsAugust 15, 2009 at 9:50 AM
Not our favorite - but a really intriguing idea to make Mexican-style mac-n-cheese. I think if we made this ourselves, we'd half the amount of mac-n-cheese and double the meat (and seasoning). We might keep the chips whole and on-the-side and use this as a dip?

We love every ingredient in this recipe so I'm not sure why the family didn't give it better reviews - we'll just have to tinker with it... it's too good an idea not to try it again!! :)
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SusanOctober 5, 2009 at 8:02 PM
kids really liked this. Thanks!
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Freezer Cooking Quick Tips

When wrapping meals for freezer: make sure to double wrap to prevent freezer burn. Using one layer of plastic wrap and a top layer of foil is best.

Freezer Bags: Use GOOD freezer bags! Don't skimp on cheapo freezer bags or your food will taste like plastic!

Meat in Freezer Meals: Thawed meat must be cooked before it can be refrozen. Frozen cooked meat can not be refrozen once thawed.

Freezing Soup: Pour soup into gallon size Ziploc bag. Lay bag of soup flat on a cookie sheet in the freezer until frozen, then remove cookie sheet. Doing this allows soup to freeze flat, so it can stack easily with other meals in your freezer.

Flash Marinade: Put raw chicken or beef in a ziploc baggie, pour in your marinade, then freeze. In the thawing process, your meat will be infused with the marinade and ready to cook!

Cooking Noodles: Cook noodles only 3 minutes, drain and immediately run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Noodles will freeze well and not turn to mush if done this way. Tip from freezerchicks blog site!

Slow-Cooking Chicken for the Freezer: You can fill crock pot with chicken breasts and pour a can of chicken broth over meat. Cook on high for 4 hours. Another method that gives the meat more flavor is to layer 1 sliced onion in the bottom of slow cooker. Top with chicken. Sprinkle with seasoned salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cook on low for 4 hours or until done. With either of these methods, you need to keep an eye on your meat to make sure you do not overcook. Shred or dice and freeze in 2 cup portions for use in casseroles, tacos, etc...

Freezing Cooked Ground Beef: You can boil ground beef, then freeze it - it will be easy to thaw and use for tacos or something similar! To do this, add raw ground beef to large pot. Add onion, salt & pepper. Fill pot with water until water is 1" above the top of the meat. Boil, stirring occasionally to break up chunks. Meat is finished when no longer pink. Drain off the water (which drains off the fat).

1lb. raw ground beef=12 oz. cooked ground beef=2 - 2.5

Freezing Sandwiches: You can make lunchmeat sandwiches ahead of time and freeze them. Just assemble the meat and cheese on bread and place in ziploc sandwich bags. Place all bagged sandwiches into a large ziploc freezer bag. I did this once with cheap sandwich bags and the sandwiches tasted like plastic; however, they taste fine if you use Ziploc bags. **PBJ works too, if bread is a higher quality wheat bread.

Freezer Efficiency: If your freezer isn't full, fill empty milk jugs 3/4 full with water and place in freezer. This helps your freezer not have to work so hard to stay cold, saving you money.

Substitutions: Here is a great source for figuring out substitions for your recipes when you start making something and realize you are missing an ingredient: http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Common-Substitutions/Detail.aspx

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Thursday, July 16, 2009

Taco Bake by Missy

6 comments:

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