Taco Pie

I haven't been doing a whole lot of cooking lately.  What I have been doing, in the food department, is working my way through all the canned and boxed products that line the shelves of my kitchen cupboards, freezer and refrigerator.  That's right, I'm trying to eat up all the food we already do have, and buy as little as possible.

Paella, rice, lentil soup, frozen gnocchi/peas/meat - is what's for dinner this month.

And it's worked out fine.  With the start of school, a broken irrigation system (read: garden nearly dead) and a husband that is doing the paleo diet, there just hasn't been much to get excited about in the kitchen lately.  For the past month, I've been a short order cook, and happy to be so. My shelves are beginning to look bare. :)

That all changed the other day when I was frolicking around the internet and saw the marriage of two beautiful words: Taco + Pie.  Mmmm...

The only problem was, after researching various Taco Pie recipes, I realized I didn't have any of the called-for ingredients in my dwindling stock-pile. So to prepare it, guilt-free, I knew I had to make some modifications -- I had to add some canned ingredients that weren't originally called for (but were burning a hole in my cupboard).  The end result was pretty tasty, easy to make and a definite family pleaser (although the wee ones would barely admit it).

Most of the Taco Pie recipes I research are pretty simple: dough, beef, taco seasoning, sour cream, chips and cheese.  I took mine up a notch by adding an onion, a can of black beans, sweet potato puree (YA-I-DID!!), reducing the cheese by almost half, and serving it with chopped greens, avocado and tomato.

Preparing the dough and sauteing the beef with onions.

After transferring the drained, beef mixture to the pie dish, I spread and even layer of sweet potato puree on top, added crumpled tortilla chips and shredded cheese.

30 minutes later - Tada!

 

TACO PIE

1 can of Crescent Rolls

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 onion, diced

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

1 package of taco seasoning, preferably Frontera's Taco Skillet Sauce

1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed.

1 can of sweet potato puree

2 handfuls of tortilla chips

5 oz. package of finely shredded mild Cheddar cheese

Garnish ideas: iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, salsa, guacamole, etc.

DIRECTIONS:

Set the oven to 350 degrees

Spray a 9 inch glass pie plate with cooking spray. Line the pie plate with the Crescent Rolls, making sure to overlap, fill any gaps and bringing dough up to edge.

In a pan, heat some oil and lightly saute the onion, then add ground beef. Season with salt and cook until beef is browned and barely any pink remains. Remove from heat and add beans and taco seasoning.

With a slotted spoon, transfer beef mixture to pie dish, discard juices.  Top beef with sweet potato puree, evenly spreading to edges of dish with a spatula. Top with crumbled tortilla chips and then shredded cheese.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Serve with chopped iceberg lettuce, avocado, guacamole, tomatoes, salsa or anything else you think might add to the dish.