Cinco de Mayo with an American Flair

Would you believe that I actually considered serving up Taco Bell Style Crunchy Tacos for Cinco de Mayo? Yup – Taco Bell Tacos! I will admit, like most Californians of my generation Taco Bell was our first Taco experience.

In 1948 a man named Glen Bell was the owner of a hot dog stand called Bell’s Drive-In located in San Bernardino, California. His hot dogs were not brining in the customers the way a Mexican restaurant across the street was. Glen Bell watched the long line of customers waiting for their hard-shelled tacos at Mitla Café. Determined to have that same appeal, Bell attempted to reverse-engineer the recipe. The owners of Mitla Café must have felt sorry for Glen Bell because eventually they invited him to learn how the tacos were made. He took what he had learned and opened a new stand in 1951. His taco shack underwent several name changes beginning with Taco-Tia, El Taco and finally Taco Bell, incorporating his own last name in the mix. Glen Bell opened his first Taco Bell on July 6, 1962 in Downey California. It was a 400-square-foot building no bigger than a two-car garage, built in a mission-style with arches that covered a walk-up window. Dining was outdoors. Everything on his menu had but one price – 19 cents. Diners could choose from hard shelled tacos, burritos, tostadas and frijoles. The meat filling in the tacos, burritos and tostadas were the same, making it easy to offer what appeared to be a selection when in reality it was just the outer appearance that changed. Eventually the fillings expanded and recipes changed. Today Taco Bells can be found world-wide including some unlikely places such as Indonesia, Japan and the Middle East.

This recipe began as a true Taco Bell style meat filling. But then I decided to add Chorizo to the mix. And instead of a mild chili powder, to use New Mexican Red Chili Powder. The flour as a thicken agent was replace with Masa. Water replaced with beef stock. This truly enriched the flavor of the filling while elevating the heat index. Hubby and Kiddo both loved it. They are my most picky critics when it comes to Mexican Foods.

Wishing everyone a festive and delicious Cinco de Mayo. Remember, it isn’t a true Cinco de Mayo feast until you’ve poured that first pitcher of Margaritas.

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Taco Bell Inspired Crunchy Tacos
Taco Seasoning
3 tablespoons Masa Flour
1 tablespoon New Mexican Red Chili Powder
1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 teaspoon Seasoning Salt
1/4 teaspoon Paprika
1/4 teaspoon Cumin
1/4 teaspoon Sugar
1/2 tablespoon Dried Minced Onion

In a small bowl, combine masa flour, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, seasoning salt, paprika, cumin, sugar and minced onions. Blend well and set aside.

Meat Filling
1 lb Ground Beef
1/2 lb bulk Chorizo
1/2 cup Beef Stock

Heat a large cast iron over medium-high heat. Crumble ground meat into the skillet; cook while breaking the meat into smaller pieces with a spatula as it browns. Drain off any excess grease.

Add beef stock, sprinkle with taco seasoning. Mix well into the ground beef. Simmer on medium-low heat for 20 minutes, until most of the moisture has evaporated or cooked away. Keep warm until ready to serve.

While the meat filling simmers, prepare everything else for the tacos.

Tacos
10 Taco Shells
4 Iceberg Lettuce Leaves
1 Beefsteak Tomato
1 cup Mexican or Mild Cheddar Cheese, shredded
10 tablespoons Taco Bell Taco Sauce or as desired

Note: Hard or soft shells are equally fine, it’s all a matter of preference. For that true Taco Bell experience, use the hard (crunchy) corn shells. For a more authentic Mexican tacos, soft shells are best.

Hard Taco Shells: Heat oven to 350-degrees. Place the shells on a baking sheet. Place in the heated oven for about 8 minutes. Allow shells to cool before assembling the tacos.

Soft Taco Shells: Warm a little oil in a flat skillet. Lightly fry shells, blot with paper towels. Allow to cool before assembling the tacos.

Break lettuce leaves from the head, stack together and roll tightly. Slice to shred then toss to separate. Slice tomato into quarters, remove seeds then dice tomato. Set aside until ready to use.

Assemble tacos:
Place about 2 tablespoons of taco meat into the bottom of each taco shell. Top with shredded lettuce, diced tomato and shredded cheese. Finish with taco sauce as desired.

Taco Bell Style Pintos-N-Cheese
1 can Refried Beans
1/4 Red Onion
3 tablespoons Taco Bell Taco Sauce
2/3 cup shredded Mexican or Cheddar Cheese

Heat oven to 350-degrees. Lightly spray 3 small ramekins with cooking spray.

Divide refried beans in the prepared dishes. Cut a quarter-wedge from a red onion. Peel and finely grate the onion, set aside. Top each dish with a tablespoon of taco sauce, spread out to cover. Scatter grated cheese over the sauce, the finish with shredded cheese.

Place ramekins in the heated oven to bake for about 15 minutes, until heated through and the cheese has melted.

Carefully remove dishes from oven. Serve alongside the tacos and enjoy.

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Remove from me the way of falsehood,
and favor me with your law.
The way of truth I have chosen;
I have set your ordinances before me.