Tasty Taco Torta

We were down to the wire. It was going to be the last meal cooked in the old house, and a friend came by to bring us more packing boxes. I asked her to join us for dinner. If you recall, I was trying to empty my freezer before moving to a new house.

I had put out the last pound of ground beef to thaw, and had four tortillas. Tacos? Offering only one seemed a little chintzy. So I made a taco pie. Or taco torta. I used a couple of tablespoons of Penzey’s salsa seasoning for flavor, but a package of taco seasoning will also work. I put out bowls of toppings like you’d serve beside tacos, and extra cheese. With piña colada cole slaw (see note), it was a wonderful finale to the 25 years I’d cooked in that kitchen.

TACO TORTA

I lb. ground beef
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 package taco seasoning
Four flour tortillas, burrito size
1 8-oz. package shredded cheese (cheddar, or Mexican mix)
Taco condiments: diced avocade, tomato and onion, cilantro, shredded lettuce, sour cream and salsa

Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. In a heavy skillet, over medium-low heat, cook the beef until only a little of the pink is left, breaking up any large clumps with a wooden spoon. Add the onion, garlic and taco seasoning. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally until the beef is done and the onion is tender.

Spray a 9-inch pie pan with cooking spray. Put one tortilla in the bottom. Top with one-fourth of the meat mixture, and one-third cup cheese. Repeat layers, using all the remaining cheese on top. Bake
for about 20 minutes, until heated through and the cheese is melted.

Remove from the oven and let it set for about 5 minutes, then cut into wedges to serve. Serve the condiments on the side. Serves 4.

NOTE: For piña colada cole slaw, into a food processor, put one 8.5-oz. can coconut cream (from the drink mix section of the grocery) and one 7-oz. can crushed pineapple. Purée and mix with two cups mayonnaise. This makes enough for three bags of pre-shredded cole slaw mix. It keeps well in the fridge.