Family Food Journal Entry: Taco Pie

I was astounded by how many people have asked me for my taco pie recipe. So, here it is, finally:

Johnson Family Taco Pie/Casserole

Though I am providing a list of ingredients, this recipe is pretty versatile, and you can easily modify it. I've left some other suggestions at the bottom, as well.

Suggested Ingredients:
1 taco spice packet
1 to 2 lbs lean ground turkey breast, according to your taste
OR replace meat with a can of kidney beans or soy meat replacement
1 can black beans
1 can white canellini beans
1 cup mild tomato salsa
2/3 cup of salsa (set aside for top layers of pie)
1/2 tsp Mrs. Dash chipotle blend
1/2 tsp Mrs. Dash table blend
1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 tsp olive oil
2 cups of mexican style shredded white and yellow cheeses (or soy cheeze if you prefer)
3 or 4 large white flour soft tortillas

Brush bottom and sides of a stainless steel large skillet with about 1/2 tsp of olive oil.
Pre-heat skillet to medium heat.
[Tip: When you sauté, be sure to keep stirring the contents of the pan frequently to keep it from burning because of little moisture.]

Sprinkle all dry seasonings except for the taco packet over your ground turkey breast to season it before taking it out of its package.

Saute minced garlic just until sizzling (about 30 seconds or less), but do not let it brown. [Tip: This process seasons your oil and pan and makes your food more flavorful.]

To the sautéed garlic, add in seasoned ground turkey breast and sauté until fully browned, but not charred/burnt, and no more pink is present. (If you used lean ground turkey breast, you won't need to strain off the fat.)

Stir in all remaining ingredients (taco packet, tomato sauce, salsa and beans). Be sure to stir well, and scrape down the sides of the pan and stir again to ensure everything is properly combined.

Lower heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, being sure to scrape the bottom and check that it's not burning/sticking. If it has begun to stick or burn badly, lower heat more and add in about 1/3 cup of vegetable broth (or hot water if you have no broth), stir and let simmer about 5 to 8 min. longer.

Remove lid, use the back of a spoon to mash your spiced meat and bean mixture around the pan evenly so that the top is flat.

Create layers of cheese and tortillas on top of the mixture:
--start by sprinkling a layer of cheese over the flattened meat and beans,
--top with a single layer of tortillas, you may need to tear them up to keep the single layer; double layer can be too much once you start eating
--spread just 1/3 cup of the set aside salsa
--sprinkle another cheese layer
--tear up the remaining tortillas and spread them randomly on top of the cheese
--top the torn tortilla layer with the rest of the cheese and the other 1/3 cup of salsa that was set aside...doesn't need to be completely covered, but you can just dot the salsa around to cover as much as you can.

Cover and simmer 5 more minutes or until all cheese has melted and tortillas have softened. Use a metal spatula to cut it like a pie and serve it. We fed our family of 2 adults and 3 small kids and still had leftovers. So, it should feed four adults a very satisfying meal.

Casserole Version
You can also make this dish as a casserole in the oven, after you make the meat and bean mixture, but add about 1/2 cup of water while simmering meat and beans (increases moisture for oven cooking).
From bottom to top of casserole dish, your layers would be:
tortilla, salsa, meat-bean mix, cheese + tortilla, salsa, meat-bean mix, cheese + tortilla and cheese on the very top

Meatless version
Replace the meat with 1 can of kidney beans and follow the recipe, being sure to simply warm up the kidney beans, as they, of course, don't need to be browned. Some people like to use soy meat replacements, however, I don't recommend it unless that's already part of your regular way of eating.
Before the 15 minute simmering, you can also add in other vegetables, like corn that has already been fully cooked, or even cooked rice or pasta. This recipe is pretty versatile.

Non-Cheese Version
One of our children has a dairy allergy, so we use soy cheeze to make this dish, sometimes.

Cheesier Version
If you're a true cheese lover, you may want to mix in a soft cheese (like nacho cheese dip or velveeta) before you start the 15 minute simmer. Just be sure to stir often, and scrape the bottom to cut down on sticking/burning.

Chili Version
If you have a chili mix box (you know those boxes you can buy that have everything you need, except for the meat and beans), then you can make chili as suggested on the box, and just reduce the amount of water a little, and then top the chili with layers of tortilla and cheese after you've cooked it well. You can probably also use canned chili for this, if you want/need, but it won't taste quite as good, unless you add other seasonings to it, as suggested in our recipe above.


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