Taco Meat is like Chili. It can be used in so many things. Here's a list of ideas to get you started.

If you make extra taco meat, you can get another meal out of it. Or two. It freezes easily in ziplock bags.

Taco Meat

• 1 lb hamburger, ground pork or ground chicken
• 1/2 cup diced onion (or 2 tbsp dried diced onion)
• 1/4 tsp garlic granules
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 TBSP chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 can diced tomatoes, drained (save the juice for soup)

Toss everything but the tomatoes into a non-stick skillet, stir to blend the spices into the meat, cook on med-high heat until the hamburger is cooked through. IMPORTANT. Chili powder and cumin MUST be cooked in the food you are seasoning, or the flavors will not develop fully.

Taco Meat With Beans and Cheese
(Ok, so this is really just my Burrito Filling, but it works here too)

• 1 lb cooked Taco Meat
• 1 can refried beans, or drained whole beans
• 1/2 lb shredded cheese

Heat through and blend together, OR layer into a baking pan, and put in the oven for about 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

Biscuit Casserole - Use Taco Meat with Beans and Cheese, already heated through. Put in a square baking dish, and top with either refridgerator biscuits, or use 1 cup Bisquik blended with milk to make a batter (the consistency of cake batter), poured over the top. Bake until the biscuits are completely done.

Cornbread Casserole - Use Taco Meat with Beans and Cheese, already heated through. Put into a square baking dish, and top with 1 batch corn bread batter, bake until corn bread is fully cooked.

Taco Pie - Use 1 batch Taco Meat, or you can use Taco Meat with Beans and Cheese, either way, already heated through. You need 1, 9" pie pan with bottom crust, uncooked. Fill with HOT Taco Meat, and top with cheese. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes, or until crust is done. You can also do this with a top crust.

Red Pepper Taco Boats - You need 1 batch Taco Meat, Shredded Cheese, Sour Cream, Guacamole, Salsa, Olives, etc. Heat the Taco Meat with the cheese on top of it. Cut your peppers in half, and fill with Taco Meat and Cheese. Top with other ingredients according to personal taste. Serving size is TWO half peppers.

Taco Pizza - 1 Pizza Crust, with Tomato Sauce and a layer of Cheese, OR 1 Cheese Pizza. Top with 1/2 lb Taco Meat, Olives, Diced Tomatoes, Diced Onion (cooked or raw), Drained cooked Beans, or other Toppings. Layer another layer of cheese on, and cook at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes (depending on thickness of Pizza). Lettuce is optional.

Taco Salad - All the good stuff piled on a bed of lettuce or spinach. Use Taco Meat, Cheese, Olives, Diced Tomato, Diced Avocado, Diced Onion, Tortilla or Frito Chips, Sour Cream, Salsa, Ranch Dressing, Chipoltle Dressing, etc. Be generous with the toppings on this and it is a heart, nutrient dense meal.

Taco Nacho - Same as Taco Salad, but on a bed of chips, or in a bowl with chips all around it on the plate.

Taco Dog - Use Taco Meat with Beans and Cheese. Spoon over a hotdog in a bun, and top with cheese, sour cream, salsa, etc.

Taco Pockets - Several ways to do this. You can use Pie Pastry, Bread Dough, or Biscuit Dough. Roll out the dough into a circle, fill with hot Taco Meat and top with cheese and any other ingredients you want, fold over and seal closed. Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until dough is fully done. You can use a large clamshell turnover press to make these.

Taco Ravioli - Make a simple Pasta Dough, and roll it out thin. You can use a small clamshell turnover press to make ravioli. Fill the Ravioli with either Taco Meat plus cheese, or with Taco Meat with Beans and Cheese.

Taco Tater Pie - Use Taco Meat with Beans and Cheese. Place in baking dish, and top with mashed potatoes, or with tater tots, or a layer of hash browns. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes, or until potatoes are browned, or until hash browns are brown and tender.

TacoMale Pie - Mix Masa Flour with Water, to make a batter - it absorbs a lot of water, so you usually add water more than once to adjust, before you pour it into the pan. Put it into a square baking dish, and top with hot taco filling, and top again with cheese. Taco Filling may be either Taco Meat, or Taco Meat with Beans and Cheese.

Taco Guaco - Heat Taco Meat and top with cheese. Fill avocado halves with meat and cheese mixture, and top with sour cream and salsa.

Taco Soup -Use your leftover tomato juice from your diced tomatoes in this. You can make this from leftover Taco Meat, but you can also just throw in cooked hamburger. You need Meat, Onions, Garlic, Butter, Tomatoes, Chili Powder, Cumin, Salt, Salsa and Beans for the soup (add water to BARELY cover). Serve the soup with olives, cheese, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, tortilla or fritos chips.

Taco Sausage - Grind half pork, half beef and blend. Add diced onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, dash of curry powder, Redmond Real Salt Seasoning Salt, and mix well. Fry a small amount and taste test. Adjust seasonings, and put in sausage casings, or pipe out without casings. Freeze. Serve in a bun, or cut up and fried with cabbage. Use in Mac and Cheese, or serve cooked beside eggs for breakfast.

Taco Tamale - Mix Masa Flour with water, to make a SOFT pasty dough (add water more than once, it absorbs a LOT). Smear the dough onto corn husks, or parchment paper squares. Lay a line of Taco Meat down the middle. Roll up. Steam for half an hour, OR can according to Tamale Canning instructions (careful, this one has to be done JUST RIGHT, or you'll have disaster).

Taco Breakfast Burritos - Sub taco meat for breakfast sausage in breakfast burritos. Good stuff!

Fried Taco Rolls - Stuff eggroll wraps with Taco Meat and Cheese, and fry until crispy brown.

Taco Pinwheels - Use refrigerator  Crescent Roll dough, or Pizza dough, and roll it out into a rectangle. Cover with Taco Meat, and then with cheese, add tomato or onion. Roll up, and slice into 1" wide slices, lay them on a cookie sheet, and bake at 375 for about 25 minutes.

Taco Stromboli - Just like Taco Pinwheels, but we don't cut it. You can use a bread dough for this, rolled out into a rectangle. After you roll it up, you lay it seam side down on a cookie sheet, and bake for 25-35 minutes, or until it is done through.

Taco Tater Tot Casserole - This is best if you use 1 batch of Taco Meat mixed with 1 bath of Taco Meat with Beans and Cheese. Layer some more cheese over that, and top with Tater Tots (they are best if deep fried first... but we all know that). Bake until hot and browned on top.

Taco Mac - Mix Taco Meat with Macaroni and Cheese. Add tomatoes, or cooked onions if wanted. You just HAVE to enjoy THAT.

Taquitos - Roll taco meat and cheese in corn tortillas. Deep fry. You can use flour tortillas if you wish, and it is even better.

Taco Lasagna - Use flour tortillas in place of noodles if you want, but noodles work also. Layer Taco Meat, cottage cheese, Cheddar Cheese, Salsa, and Olives and Cooked Onions. Top with lots of cheese and bake until hot and until the cheese is browned.

Taco Burger - Use Taco Meat with Beans and Cheese instead of Sloppy Joe filling, and top with cheese and lettuce, and anything else that sounds intriguing and delicious on your taco.

Taco Sandwich - Just stuff all that taco goodness into Pita bread.

Taco Rice Bowl - Mix 1/3 taco meat with 2/3 cooked rice. Top with cheese and taco toppings.

Taco Taters - Taco stuffed baked potatoes.

Taco Mexo - Cornmeal mush spread in a baking dish, topped with taco meat, and cheese.

Taco Mexi Rice - Add 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 lb taco meat, and 1 chopped sauteed red pepper to 3 cups of Spanish Rice. Top with Cheese, and Sour Cream.

Make extra of that Taco Filling and you won't have to worry about what's for dinner.