Beans are great for stretching out a meal, and beef tacos are an awesome way to use them.
Soups, pastas, and many mexican dishes can be almost doubled with a wide variety of beans. As a kid, my mom always made beef tacos with kidney beans in the mix. I thought this was “normal” but later realized she was stretching her dollar.
Now that my kids are a bit older, a pound of ground beef doesn’t go as far as it used it. But when I mix in some kidney beans, we now have more than enough for our dinner and usually a little leftover.
Do you use beans to stretch meals? What is your favorite kind of bean to use, and in what dish do you like to use it?
Serves: Serves 4-6
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 pound ground beef (grass-fed preferred)
- 1 1/2 cups kidney beans, cooked (if you use canned, make sure and rinse them)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 12 corn tortillas (I prefer these sprouted corn tortillas )
- 20 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (omit for dairy free)
- 1/4 cup sour cream (omit for dairy free)
- 1/4 cup cilantro, minced
- 1 lime, quartered
Instructions
- Heat coconut oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add onion and saute until softened, about 5-7 minutes. Add ground beef to softened onion and cook, stirring frequently and breaking up meat with the back of a spoon, until browned, about 6-8 minutes. Stir in kidney beans. Make a well in the center of the pan and add the garlic, cumin and salt. Stir spices in the center of the pan until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Stir spices into meat mixture. Taste meat and add more salt if necessary. Remove skillet from heat.
- Serve meat in a tortilla and topped with tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime juice.
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