Friday's Fab Five - Tacos

On Friday's, I post a recipe to make five meals at one time - all in one pan!  That way we all have  fewer dishes to wash!!

Today's is SUPER easy!  Tacos....you can take this method and use it for all kinds of meals, but this is the easiest.

I only buy hamburger in family packs.  It is not worth my time to cook one pound at a time.  I don't enjoy washing dishes and that would mean that I have to clean 5 skillets.  That is not for me.  So, when family packs are on sale, I stock up!

A pasta spoon is a great help when trying to break up the meat in the skillet.  I use a 12 inch skillet for that much meat.

I used to buy 5 pounds and make 5 different recipes to freeze.  But, now I buy 5 pounds and make the same recipe in bulk.  We eat one that day and then I freeze the others for the future.

I only freeze in freezer-quality ziplock bags.  I have an old milk carton that I cut the top off of and put the bag in there to fill it.  Then I squeeze extra air out and lay it flat to freeze.  That way it takes up minimal space in my freezer. 

So, I cook all 5 pounds of meat at one time, then I add 5 packages of taco seasoning and 1 cup of water.  Stir and heat a little till the liquid is gone.  Then I divide the meat into 5 sections.  This is approximately 1 pound each, but believe me...NO ONE will ever say, "Hey this isn't one pound of meat."  We eat one that night and I freeze the other 4.  On a day that I need a quick meal, I defrost the meat and dinner is quick!

To defrost meat quickly, fill your sink with cool water and drop the ziplock in the water.  It will defrost quickly and you can have dinner on the table before you can drive thru some fast food place!

Meals you can make with taco meat:
Tacos
Taco salad - I like to top mine with Fritos and Catalina salad dressing
Taco soup
Taco stuffed zucchini - http://ohmyveggies.com/recipe-taco-stuffed-zucchini/ Just mix your premade taco meat with the corn, jalapeños, tomatoes and cheese.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. Fill the zucchini and follow her directions for baking.
Beef Enchiladas - layer corn torillas, enchilada sauce, taco meat and cheese like lasagna.  Bake 30 minutes.

Really and truly, I could eat Mexican food every single day and never be tired of it!