This past weekend, the meal planning mommies got together to have a girls weekend. Not only did we have a hilarious time, but while we were out eating we couldn’t help coming up with new recipes. This was one of them!
While eating at T.G.I.Fridays we noticed that the nachos we were eating were made on a taco shell that was broken in half. Our minds started working together and thus came the open faced taco! . If you are a toppings lover, like me and always get frustrated b/c there is just not enough room in a taco shell to fit all of your beloved tomatoes, guacomole, sour cream, salsa, cheese, olives etc. You will love the open faced taco! You can pile all of your toppings on top, as many as you want- the sky is the limit!
Enjoy this meal and spice it up in your own way for your family. Let us know how it goes!

Here is what you need for a family of 4:

1 lb ground beef, cheese, taco shells, taco seasoning, *refried beans, *tomato, *sour cream, *lettuce, *taco sauce and *mexican rice (*Optional ingredients. Choose what your family loves!) You may have some great leftover toppings from your chop salad yesterday. If you want to make a meatless meal, the ground beef could totally be omitted and you could use the refried beans as your base.

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350. Then, brown the hamburger and drain Isn’t my husband great? He is my offical meat browner, he does it so well!

Step 2: Add the taco seasoning and follow directions on the packet for cooking

Step 3: If you are choosing to make rice as a side dish, start this now.

Step 4: Break taco shells into 2 separate parts and place on a cookie sheet. At first I tried cutting these with scissors and although it works that way, it works just as well to break them with your hands. I placed my thumb in the crevice of the shell and slowly worked my way down the shell break it into two. If you break one or two, nobody will know! Toss it in a baggie to use as a scooper later on for your toppings!

Step 5: Start layering your toppings on your shell. I started with refried beans

Step 6: Then I added the ground beef and cheese. On some of the shells I omitted the beans for those who don’t like them.

Step 7: Place in the oven for 7-10 minutes until the cheese is all melted and everything is warmed up!

Step 8: After they are warmed up, add your PILE of toppings and your rice to the side. No Fork needed! Simply pick up the taco shell as if it were a nacho chip and eat away! Even my 2 1/2 year old daughter loved this idea and was able to eat with ease.
Notice it was a paper plate night for us tonight. Gotta have those nights every once in awhile to give us a nice break from kitchen clean up!

I would love to know how your family responded to this meal. Let me know if you tried it or are planning to in the future! ~

Cost of Meal for a family of 4: $8.00
Cost per person: $2.00