Spooky (or not!) Homemade Tacos

Hey Munchkin Blog readers! Lunches + Littles here with a super fun recipe- perfect for October: Spooky (or not!) Homemade Tacos. They’re easy, fun, delicious and scream Halloween! Although, these tacos would be great any time of year….

When we think of Halloween we often think candy, candy and more candy. True- the two kind of go hand in hand, and while we believe that every food fits in moderation, we also believe in feeding our bodies nourishing foods. On our feed, you will find all sorts of recipes- including festive ones that have all the fun and spook without all of the sugar, etc. (Yay!) A couple fun examples: our Ground Turkey Stuffed Pumpkin Peppers and our Mini Mummy Meatloaves; both proof that real food, really can be fun. And today, we are sharing our Spooky (or not!) Homemade Tacos.

For these, we start with the best homemade taco meat (in our opinion!)….it’s filled with all sorts of goodness, like garlic, onion and tomatoes. We fill the tortilla shells with the meat and then pile on the toppings, and a bit of sour cream and black olives for our eyes. The result- super fun tacos that are delicious and perfect for the month of October. And for even more festive fun, pick up some candy eyes and have fun with your sides too (spooky celery and peanut butter shown below). Plastic spider rings, and other festive finds are also a great addition to this spooky spread!

Get the full recipe below, and be sure to check out www.munchkin.com for the feeding sets you see here (we have featured the Grown-Ups Table Splash™ Dining Sets in Black here) and so much more for your little ones and your home!

SPOOKY (OR NOT!) HOMEMADE TACOS RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 medium-sized onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 1 and 1/2 lbs lean ground beef or ground turkey
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4- 1/2 tsp cumin (depending on personal preference)
• 1/4 cup diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp salt

You will also need: tortilla shells (we used a combination of corn and spinach) and toppings of choice, such as: lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, avocado (we grated ours- doesn’t it look fun?), black olive slices, shredded cheese, etc.

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped and minced garlic and sauté’ until translucent and fragrant (approximately 4- 5 minutes).
• Stir in tomato paste and add in ground beef or turkey.
• Next, add in chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, salt and 1- 2 tbsp water. Cook beef, breaking up as it cooks.
• While cooking meat, prep any toppings, as desired. Then set aside.
• Add diced tomatoes to skillet and stir into meat mixture. Continue cooking, turning heat to a simmer for 15- 20 minutes.
• One meat mixture is fully combined and cooked through, remove from heat.
• Fill taco shells with meat and then add toppings (whatever you want!). For Spooky Tacos: once your toppings are added, place two small dollops of sour cream in each taco shell (as circular as possible). Then place two olive slices on top of the dollops, as shown.
• Enjoy your spooky tacos and for more fun food, be sure to head on over to our feed @lunchesandlittles where we are sharing fun, mostly-healthy, family-friendly meals just like this one all of the time (and sometimes, they are rather festive too!)

Please note: this recipe serves approximately 6-9, but will depending on # of tacos per person/how full you fill them. For less meat, consider dividing the recipe in half, or make full recipe and enjoy the extras as leftovers later in the week. Yum!