I am always putzing around, looking for new and better ways to cook things – especially Mexican cuisine. Mexican, really, is one of the easiest ways to prepare foods. And it’s versatile. Put some taco meat in a tortilla and you have a Burrito. Put sauce on top of that and you have an enchilada. The hardest part is remembering the names and how to spell them.
Last week, I had an inspiration involving Pillsbury Pie Crusts. You can put an old cow pile in a pie crust and it’s not half bad – so why not make some taco pies? I did and they were good. Here is my very simple recipe.
I have some extra-large muffin tins – about twice the volume of an average muffin tin, and they served as the base for my pies.
I started by spreading a room-temperature pie crust on a floured board and rolled it out to about 12 inches in diameter. From that, I cut four 6” circles, then rolled the remainder of the dough enough to get two more circles. I sprayed each of the muffin tins with Pam, then fit the pie crusts into each of the six tins and mashed the tops and sides a bit and poked a couple holes in the bottoms. I put the pies into a 375 oven for about 8 minutes, until they were slightly brown and began to set.
For the taco part, I browned a pound of 85/15 hamburger and poured off the grease (pain in the ass). Next I added a packet of taco sauce mixed in water, cooked the beef a bit longer, then added a drained can of black beans.
I put about a half-cup of the taco mixture in each pie, then topped with 2 tablespoons of Mexican-blend cheese.
Bake in a 350 oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, and you’re eating taco pies.
1 Pillsbury Pie Crust
1 lb. 85/15 ground beef
1 package taco seasoning
1 can black beans
1 pkg. Mexican Fiesta blend shredded cheese