Soft Tacos are great for summer months because there is no need to heat up the kitchen with an oven or skillet. All this cooking can be done in a crock pot or microwave!
Black Bean Soft Tacos
- 12 flour tortillas – store bought is okay, but if you have the time, make the Jamison’s Texas Flour Tortillas
- 1 lb package dry black beans
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 head iceberg lettuce, shredded — or buy 1 package pre-shredded lettuce
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes, about 1 large beefsteak tomato or 3 Roma tomatoes
- 1 cup shredded cheese – cheddar or a Mexican blend
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup salsa
Cook the black beans all day in a crock pot, see Crockpot Black Beans recipe for details.
Chop vegetables and set out with other condiments.
Warm the tortillas by placing the entire stack of 12, wrapped in slightly damp paper towels, in the microwave and warming on high for one minute. Serve immediately.
To make a taco, place one warm flour tortilla on a plate and layer 1/4 cup black beans, 1/4 cup lettuce, 1 Tablespoon chopped tomatoes, 1 Tablespoon shredded cheese, 1 Tablespoon sour cream and 1 Tablespoon salsa. Salt and pepper to taste and roll up in a tube; eat with fingers like a sandwich.
Makes 12 tacos – serves 4 or 6 people using 3 or 2 tacos per person
Microwave Beef Taco Filling
- 1 package Lawry’s Taco seasoning
- 1 lb. extra lean beef
- 1 cup water
- a 2-3 quart microwave safe bowl with lid
- 12 flour tortillas – store bought is okay, but if you have the time, make the Jamison’s Texas Flour Tortillas
- 1/2 head iceberg lettuce or buy 1 package pre-shredded lettuce
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes, about 1 large beefsteak tomato or 3 Roma tomatoes
- 1 cup shredded cheese – cheddar or a Mexican blend
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup salsa
Chop vegetables and set out with other condiments before beginning to cook meat.
Make a donut-shape with the ground beef inside the microwave safe bowl. Make sure you leave a hole in the center of the ring of meat; this allows the meat to cook evenly throughout. Cover and microwave the beef on high for 5 minutes. Carefully vent (crack open cover on the side away from your face) to release steam, then remove cover completely. Unlike browning meat in a skillet, microwaving ground beef turns it more gray than brown. It is still cooked safely, but there are no sizzling heat surfaces to turn it brown. Break up the meat ring with a wooden spoon and place into a colander in a clean sink or on a plate lined with paper towels. Continue breaking up meat and draining off any fat, but using extra lean beef usually means you don’t have much fat to drain off. Make the meat into the smallest possible crumbles so the seasoning in the next step will thoroughly saturate the beef. My family likes their taco meat run through a food processor but if you don’t have one, you can just keep breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon. Place the meat back in the microwave safe bowl and add the Lawry’s taco seasoning and 1 cup water. Stir to completely mix the beef, water and seasoning mix. Cover and microwave again on high for 5 minutes. Carefully vent and remove cover and break up/mix the filling once again and spoon into a serving bowl.
Warm the tortillas by placing the entire stack of 12, wrapped in slightly damp paper towels, in the microwave and warming on high for one minute. Serve immediately.
To make a taco, place one warm flour tortilla on a plate and layer 1/4 cup taco meat, 1/4 cup lettuce, 1 Tablespoon chopped tomatoes, 1 Tablespoon shredded cheese, 1 Tablespoon sour cream and 1 Tablespoon salsa. Salt and pepper to taste and roll up in a tube; eat with fingers like a sandwich.
Caution when double this recipe: Trying to cook more than 1 lb of ground beef in the microwave doubles the cooking time it takes to brown the meat completely. The best method to increase this recipe’s quantity is to make the filling in 1-lb batches and transfer each completed batch to a crock pot set on warm to retain the cooking heat until serving time. However, if you have to cook 2 lbs of beef at a time, cook it on high 5 minutes, break apart and stir, reshape into a donut, cook 5 more minutes on high, then drain. If there is any pink at all in the meat, cook in a donut once more on high for 5 minutes. If no pink remains, add the seasoning and cook the final 5 minutes.
Makes 12 tacos – serves 4 or 6 people using 3 or 2 tacos per person