It’s game day. Or any other day of the week for that matter, and you’re trying to decide what grub to serve. The dilemma: you’re not sure how many people will be showing up, what time they’ll arrive, and you don’t want to spend a lot of time and money on food. To complicate the situation further you dare yourself to even ask the question, can I make the meal healthy too?
Ever been here? Three word solution……
Slow Cooker Tacos.
Oh man, these are so good. One bite and you’ll never return to old ways of making delicious, hand-held, meat-between-layers-of-corn-crunch bites. And mine are gluten-free with no packaged spice mix. I made this dish for the football games on Saturday and they were a hit with all ages. On the taco bar I added crunchy corn tortilla chips, chipotle salsa, creamy guacamole with corn, fresh cilantro, cold watermelon and cantaloupe chunks. Easy entertaining.
Even better leftover the next day, or freeze in airtight containers. Round two taco salad: top chopped romaine lettuce with slow cooker filling, chopped avocados, grilled corn, cilantro, salsa and crunched up blue corn chips.
Seriously, you gotta’ give these a try. They won’t let you down.
Slow Cooker Tacos
makes about 30 tacos
- 2 lbs LEAN GROUND TURKEY, 93/7
- 1 Tbsp CANOLA OIL, 100%
- 1 medium YELLOW ONION, chopped
- 16 oz TOMATO SAUCE (canned)
- 1 1/2 tbsp CHILI POWDER
- 1 1/2 tbsp CUMIN, GROUND
- 1 tsp GARLIC POWDER
- 1/2 tsp OREGANO, DRIED
- SEA SALT AND PEPPER TO TASTE
- 28 oz TOMATOES, DICED, drained (canned)
- 4 oz GREEN CHILES, chopped, (canned)
- 30 oz PINTO or BLACK BEANS, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups CHEDDAR or MEXICAN CHEESE, SHREDDED, REDUCED FAT
- 30 CORN TACO SHELLS
Gluten-free option: Use gluten-free corn shells and cheese.
1. Add 1 Tbsp canola oil to a large skillet over medium high heat. Add chopped onion and sauté 2-3 minutes until starts to soften. Add ground turkey to pan with onions and crumble with a spatula. Cook just until browned. Set aside.
2. Mix cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper in a small bowl; set aside. In a cooking sprayed slow cooker, evenly layer cooked turkey/onion mixture,
tomato sauce,
spices,
drained tomatoes and green chiles.
Cover and cook on low 2-3 hours or on high 1-2 hours. The last 30 minutes add the cheese and bean layers; continue cooking with lid on until heated through.
3. Serve meat filling straight out of the slow cooker with a slotted spoon into taco shells. Makes about 30 tacos. Serving size: 1 taco. Top with shredded lettuce, extra cheese or guacamole, if desired (extra topping calories not included below).
NUTRITION INFO PER SERVING: 160 calories, 6g fat, 1.5g sat fat, 25mg cholesterol, 17g carb, 3g fiber, 1g sugar, 11g protein
VARIATIONS: Use lean ground beef or chicken for turkey.