So tonight I’m out on the town…I’m hanging out at the Ultimate Mom’s Night Out and will then catch the last showing of Ramona and Beezus with some girlfriends. (I know…I’m totally getting wilder as I age!) I really just want to see Ramona and Beezus so I can feel 12 again.
(I might have had a little thing for those Beverly Cleary books when I was a kid. The kind of thing where you read them one after the next, after the next. And you stand in line at the bookstore the day a new one gets released. There you have it, a self-professed Ramona nerd.)
Last night I browned a large package of ground beef…and used most of it for this chili, but saved enough for spaghetti sauce for the guys to have tonight. Over on Facebook, I asked what you guys do for dinner when you head out for a girls night…and I am super impressed with all those Spam and Ramen cooking husbands!
(While I know Steve is perfectly capable of making dinner for the little people, it’s much easier for him if I get dinner ready for them. Or at least pull pancakes out of the freezer!)
I was a little bit nervous about how the “taco” flavor of the chili would work with the potatoes…but for no reason! It totally “worked”!
Mexican Chili Topped Potatoes
Yield – 4 servings
Preparation Time – 10 minutes
Cooking Time – 60 minutes
Ingredients
- 4 large baking potatoes ($.80)
- About 1 lb. ground beef ($1.79)
- 2 15 oz. cans “chili ready” diced tomatoes, drained ($.16 each) Substitute2 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes and add some chili powder and 1 cup chopped onions
- 3 cups cooked red kidney beans ($.60) Substitute 2 15 oz. cans drained red kidney beans
- 1 1/2 Tbsp homemade taco seasoning ($.10)
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed or minced ($.05)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Butter for the potatoes, if you like ($.20)
- 1 package steamable mixed veggies ($.99) Manager’s Special
Directions
- Bake the potatoes in the oven. 400 for an hour or so. Time will depend on how fat the potatoes are. 🙂
- Brown the ground beef and drain. Return to the skillet and add the diced tomatoes, red kidney beans, taco seasoning, crushed garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer for about 10 minutes.
- When potatoes are finished baking, remove them from the oven and let cool before handling. Break open, mash down, add a little butter if you like, then top with the chili.
- Steam the veggies as directed on the package.
- Serve Mexican Chili Topped Potatoes with Steamed Broccoli, Carrots and Snap Peas.
Cost $4.85
Looks amazing!
When I was a kid, a special “treat” for us was when my Dad would make either taco potatoes or chili potatoes for us for dinner. He’d bake potatoes and then we would either put leftover taco meat or chili on top of the potatoes with cheese, onions, sour cream, sometimes fresh tomatoes from the garden or if we were really lucky for the taco potatoes we’d have black olives (usually only on mine and my brother’s b-days). I still love and look forward to having them!