Mexican Food

Taco Pasta Salad

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I don’t know about you, but I feel like my family eats a ton of spaghetti and lots of tacos, mostly because they are family friendly, tasty, quick and economical. Personally, I get bored with the same-old, same-old for dinner so I try to mix it up when I can. This dish marries two of our favorites together — tacos and pasta! This would be a great “meatless Monday” dinner or as a side dish. We love it served with grilled chicken as our main course too. One of my boys says we should call it “Paco Salad,” mashing “pasta” and “taco” together.   Whatever you want to call it, it’s delish! ~Kathy

 

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. orecchiette (ear shaped) or medium shell pasta
  • 1 can (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 c frozen corn, thawed and drained
  • ½ c. (loosely packed) cilantro
  • 1 c. cherry or grape tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • ¼ c. red onion, finely diced
  • 1 jar (15.5 oz) salsa (roughly 1 2/3 c) – I used Tostitos Restaurant Style
  • ¼ c. olive oil
  • 3 T. lime juice
  • 3 T. taco seasoning, dry
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 Hass avocado, ripe but slightly firm, diced
  • 2/3 c. cheddar cheese, diced to about 1/4” cubes (a good ww friendly option is Cabot sharp light cheddar 50% reduced fat)*

Instructions: 

  1. Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions.  Drain, rinse in cool water and set aside to cool. 
  2. In a large bowl, add the pasta, beans, corn, cilantro, onion, tomatoes and salsa.  Mix gently together. 
  3. In a small bowl whisk olive oil, lime juice, garlic and taco seasoning.  Mix well.  Pour over pasta and mix to coat. 
  4. Gently fold in cheese and avocado just before serving. 

WW Freestyle Info.:  Makes 12 one-cup servings at 7 points each.  You could  also add grilled chicken breast for zero ww points if desired! 

The Best Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa

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Over the years I’ve seen lots of different recipes for Barbacoa.  Some had ingredients that I thought were a little weird, some had sugar, and some had dizzyingly long lists of ingredients.  The version that I’ve created has the perfect amount of spicy flavor, and it cooks to fall apart tender. It’s tasty enough that my oldest, who usually doesn’t care for shredded beef dishes, asked me to make him his own batch to take back to college with him.  He’s also not a fan of leftovers, so here’s hoping that this helps keep him (and his debit card) out of the Chick-Fil-A drive through! But let’s be honest, one of the best things about this dish is that it takes a few minutes to dice two ingredients and the rest is simply tossing stuff into the slow cooker.  My favorite way to eat this is on a soft taco with a little cilantro, a squeeze of lime juice, and of course, cheese, but it also makes a great base for shredded beef enchiladas. I think it’ll quickly become one of your favorites (and it’s only 3 WW points per serving)! ~Tracy

Ingredients:
  • ~One beef rump roast, approximately 3 lbs., with fat trimmed
  • ~1, 5 oz. can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (I use Embasa brand)
  • ~1, 4 oz. can diced green chiles
  • ~1 cup diced white or yellow onion
  • ~5 large cloves garlic, minced
  • ~juice of one lime, freshly squeezed
  • ~2 T. apple cider vinegar
  • ~3 to 4 bay leaves
  • ~1 ½ tsp. salt
  • ~1 tsp. black pepper
  • ~1 T. ground cumin
  • ~1 ½ tsp. oregano
  • ~1 c. fat free beef broth or prepared beef bouillon
  1. Place rump roast in slow cooker (I highly recommend using slow cooker liner. They make cleanup so much easier!)
  2. Remove the adobo peppers from the can and roughly chop them. Use the entire can if you like things fairly spicy. When cooking for my family, I use the entire can, but if you don’t love things very spicy, or are cooking for others, use half the can.
  3. Add the peppers (including seeds and some of the sauce) to the pot with the roast.
  4. Add all other ingredients.
  5. Place lid on slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.
  6. Remove the roast from the slow cooker using tongs or a large spatula.
  7. Remove the bay leaves from the pot while you have the meat removed.
  8. Shred the meat and return to the slow cooker to let it simmer in the juices for another 15-20 minutes before serving.
  9. Remove the meat from the liquid and serve.

WW Freestyle Info.: This recipe makes 15, 3 oz. servings that are 3 points each.

Black Bean & Beef Green Chile Bake

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Black Bean & Beef Green Chile Bake
from Four Sisters Dish

I created this recipe because I wanted something new, but I also wanted something healthy that did not take any time to cook. Before I come across as too lazy, my kids had called me on the sugar cookies I promised before the school break had ended. Operation sugar cookie was already in full swing as dinner approached.

So on my wee end of the counter, I decided I could throw something Mexican together, and I realized I had never tried anything with beef and green chiles together, which I absolutely love. (I’m pretty sure Santa Fe, NM, might be heaven – at least during Hatch chile season…)

What emerged took only few minutes of prep and about 10 minutes of cooking in the oven. And it tasted like it should have been an old family casserole that had taken FAR more time. When it comes to meal prep, I’m always for fabulous foods making it seem like I worked harder than I did! ~Robin

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb of 97% lean ground beef
  • 1 package of taco seasoning (I use Taco Bell brand)
  • 1 can of black beans, rinsed
  • 2 8-inch tortillas (Tumaro’s 8” White Low-in-Carb Wraps)
  • 2 7-oz cans of chopped green chiles (I use Old El Paso brand)
  • 1 4.5-oz. can of chopped green chiles
  • ½ cup shredded reduced-fat Colby Jack (I like Kraft Natural)
  • 1 jalepeno pepper, sliced (if desired for garnish)
  • ½ c. cherry tomatoes, sliced in half (if desired for garnish)
  • Taco sauce or salsa, if desired, for serving 

Instructions: 

Preheat oven to 350° F.  In a 9”x 9” pan, take one 8” tortilla and tear it up into 1.5-2” square-ish chunks and spread across the bottom of the pan; set aside.  In a large skillet, cook lean ground beef until browned. Drain any fat that cooks out.   Add taco seasoning and ¾ c. water according to taco seasoning instructions (except I don’t let it cook down for a full 10 minutes – just until most of the water is cooked out).  Add drained green chiles and drained black beans.  Stir gently until mixed well and heated well throughout.  Then turn off heat.  

Into the 9×9 pan, pour ½ of the beef mixture into the pan over the tortilla chunks, spreading evenly.  Then do another layer of torn up tortilla spread evenly across the beef mixture.  Pour the rest of the beef mixture over this and spread evenly.  Sprinkle the top with your ½ c. of cheese.  Bake for about 10 minutes – until bubbly hot and cheese is melted well across the top.

WW Freestyle Info.:  This recipe makes 6 very filling portions at just 4 points each.