Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Deceptive Taco Meat

So I own and love the Deceptively Delicious cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld. It really is a great idea and last fall I experimented a lot with hidden veggies in our dinners... The only thing was that the process of making the recipes was a bit labor intensive. So I've kept a few of the recipes as staples (the one's that were not complicated) and I've tweacked them to make 'em easier. So here's how I make our taco meat now. I just made this tonight to put in my freezer actually for a taco night a few weeks away. Anywho, here's the recipe:

Deceptive Taco Meat

1 pound ground beef
1 can petite diced tomatoes (or crushed tomatoes)
1, 2nd foods size, baby food butternut squash (can use 2 jars if you can get away with it without your kids noticing)
1 packet taco seasoning

Brown ground beef, drain. Add can of tomatoes with juice, butternut squash and taco seasoning. Mix it all really well and heat to boiling. Turn down heat and simmer for about 7 - 10 minutes, squishing the tomatoes with a spatula or potato masher to break them up as much as possible. You can either serve it hot or let it cool down and spoon into a freezer bag to freeze for another night.

My kids never realize they are eating tomatoes and squash in the taco meat and really you can hardly taste the difference with the taco seasoning overpowering all the veggie flavor. I've thought about adding some bulgur wheat to this too to throw in a little whole grain with all the veggie goodness. I'll tell you how it goes if and when I do this.

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