Taco Night
Valerie_Malone
Posts: 59 Member
So last night was taco night at my house, and was a great success for me. My husband can't live without having his hard taco shells, so that's ok, he can eat whatever he wants. As for me, I had to find an alternative to having regular taco shells and I did, and I liked them. I ended up using deli sliced Muenster cheese for my taco shells. To make the slices of cheese hard, I put them on parchment paper then placed them in the microwave on high for 35 seconds. I took a slice out, leaving it on the parchment paper, drained the grease off the cheese, folded it and put it in between two cans of canned vegetables, to keep its form and let it cool down. They ended up being crispy and tasted pretty good. I did go through some trial and error, to get them to the right crispeness, but it works. I was wondering if anyone else has other substitutes they have had to use when it comes to taco night.
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I LOVE TACO NIGHT!!!! We have it nearly every week in our house! I really enjoy just having a taco salad. I like to use Beanitos. They're like a corn chip, but they're made from beans and flax. They're a little lower in carbs and really tasty by themselves even. I crush 4-5 of the chips on top of my salad like croutons, rather than using them as the base of a taco salad. La Tortilla Factory makes some uber high fiber soft tortilla shells. I use those some times as a giant soft shell taco.
Since we have taco night so often, I use 1 cup of TVP to a pound of ground beef to help cut costs, saturated fats and cholesterol. We also grind our own beef using trimmed sirloin roasts, so it's a leaner, cheaper beef to begin with.0 -
Wow - that's a great idea! I wonder what other cheeses would work? I'm not crazy about Munster. I will have to experiment. We just started on this so we are missing things and I haven’t figured out all the variations I might be able to do to get to back favorite meals. I do know that spaghetti squash didn’t work for the family as noodles. I didn’t mind it but they did.0
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What a great idea! I would never have thought of creating a cheese "shell" but that's brilliant! I usually do the taco/fajita salad with no shell and no rice, but sometimes it's so great to have something crunchy.
Yup, I'm trying it.0 -
Wow - that's a great idea! I wonder what other cheeses would work? I'm not crazy about Munster. I will have to experiment. We just started on this so we are missing things and I haven’t figured out all the variations I might be able to do to get to back favorite meals. I do know that spaghetti squash didn’t work for the family as noodles. I didn’t mind it but they did.
Provolone works too. We've done slices and shredded for these.
http://thehungrydudes.com/bacon-and-fried-cheese-tacos/
And this one too: http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/cheese_crisp.html
We LOVE the Trader Joe's Carnita. That with some sour cream, cheese, lettuce, tomato, guacamole. We've even done the 5 layer dip that has a little bit of refried beans in there. Love the mexican!
Maybe use these as a shortcut and make nachos?
http://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Table-Bakers-Parmesan-Packages/dp/B003GBCH10/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1363895551&sr=8-2&keywords=cheese+crisps0 -
Trader Joe's sells a Soy & Flaxmeal tortilla chip which is very good for taco salad. Also very good on their own! The "spicy" version isn't that spicy, it tastes like a Dorito.
I wonder how it would be if you crushed some and then mixed with shredded cheese and then made a shell in the same manner Valerie did with her munster?
If you want beans don't forget about black soy beans! They're not always available at the grocery store (they used to be around here, I thought, but I can't find them now) but they are always available at health food stores. And I do not mean black beans or arrones negros, I mean BLACK SOY BEANS - different thing
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. As for me, I had to find an alternative to having regular taco shells and I did, and I liked them. I ended up using deli sliced Muenster cheese for my taco shells. To make the slices of cheese hard, I put them on parchment paper then placed them in the microwave on high for 35 seconds. I took a slice out, leaving it on the parchment paper, drained the grease off the cheese, folded it and put it in between two cans of canned vegetables, to keep its form and let it cool down. They ended up being crispy and tasted pretty good. I did go through some trial and error, to get them to the right crispeness, but it works. I was wondering if anyone else has other substitutes they have had to use when it comes to taco night.
How do you get the cheese to NOT stick to the paper? I have tried this SEVERAL times and every time it sticks and I have to throw it away!! I really want to be able to make "chips" Maybe because I am baking mine instead of the microwave??0 -
A restaurant here serves tacos with JICIMA shells. They are phenomenal.0
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Jicama...what an awesome idea...I'd never thought of that. I will totally have to try that this week!
http://zenbellyblog.com/2012/01/27/taco-night-with-secret-never-browns-guacamole-recipe/0 -
. As for me, I had to find an alternative to having regular taco shells and I did, and I liked them. I ended up using deli sliced Muenster cheese for my taco shells. To make the slices of cheese hard, I put them on parchment paper then placed them in the microwave on high for 35 seconds. I took a slice out, leaving it on the parchment paper, drained the grease off the cheese, folded it and put it in between two cans of canned vegetables, to keep its form and let it cool down. They ended up being crispy and tasted pretty good. I did go through some trial and error, to get them to the right crispeness, but it works. I was wondering if anyone else has other substitutes they have had to use when it comes to taco night.
How do you get the cheese to NOT stick to the paper? I have tried this SEVERAL times and every time it sticks and I have to throw it away!! I really want to be able to make "chips" Maybe because I am baking mine instead of the microwave??
I'm not sure, I haven't had any problems with mine sticking at all. It could be because you're baking them.0 -
That's a great idea. Thanks for sharing.0
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I use romaine or little gem lettuce leaves as a taco shell. Works great.0
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Here's a recipe for jicima tacos. There are others.
http://zenbellyblog.com/2012/01/27/taco-night-with-secret-never-browns-guacamole-recipe/0 -
How do you get the cheese to NOT stick to the paper? I have tried this SEVERAL times and every time it sticks and I have to throw it away!! I really want to be able to make "chips" Maybe because I am baking mine instead of the microwave??
You're using real parchment paper, right? Not wax paper or foil? I've never had a problem with cheese on parchment in the oven (or microwave).0 -
I'm going to buy a mandoline just to try this! I love Jicima and tacos..so it's win win!A restaurant here serves tacos with JICIMA shells. They are phenomenal.0 -
Never thought of the cheese slices! I might have to try that! I use romaine lettuce leaves.0
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How do you get the cheese to NOT stick to the paper? I have tried this SEVERAL times and every time it sticks and I have to throw it away!! I really want to be able to make "chips" Maybe because I am baking mine instead of the microwave??
You're using real parchment paper, right? Not wax paper or foil? I've never had a problem with cheese on parchment in the oven (or microwave).
I have tried wax, parchment, and just oiling the pan. I will try it in the microwave, maybe tomorrow.0
