Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Cheesy Beef Tortilla Cups

Cheesy Beef Tortilla Cups

I love Italian food and usually when I visit Claudia's What's Cookin' Italian Style Cuisine blog, it's to admire her Italian recipes. If you haven't seen it yet, be prepared to immediately want to bookmark lots of her tasty offerings. But considering that, it was quite ironic that the first recipe of hers I ended up actually trying was Mexican inspired! Back around Cinco De Mayo, Claudia posted her tempting looking recipe for Mexican Taco Cupcakes. It was so instantly appealing and I had all the ingredients in the house so I made it for dinner that night and Brian and I both really liked it.

Cheesy Beef Tortilla Cups
Since then I've made the dish several times and have adapted it to be a little healthier. Occasionally I serve it over rice or just with a salad for a lighter supper. Despite my use of lean and low fat ingredients, this dish tastes rich and full flavored with a wonderful balance of textures and spice. The fact that it's a quick, easy meal to prepare has meant that it's become a regular addition to our roster. So, enjoy, and thank you for the delicious inspiration, Claudia!








Ingredients
1 lb. Lean ground beef
2 Tablespoons taco seasoning
2 Cups (16 oz. jar) salsa (heat level of your choice)
2 Cups (16 oz. can) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 Cup reduced fat cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
8 Soft tortillas (6" size)

Cheesy Beef Tortilla Cups
In a large pan, brown the ground beef along with the taco seasoning. Add the salsa and black beans. Allow to simmer together for a couple of minutes and taste to check if additional salt and pepper are needed.

Spray a large muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray and place one tortilla in each muffin cup. Divide the beef mixture evenly between the muffin cups and sprinkle equal amounts of cheese over each one. Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for approximately 20 minutes until the tortilla is lightly crispy and the cheese has melted. Makes approximately 8 servings.

25 comments:

  1. awesome recipe ADAPTED . Healthier is always the best in yours look wonderful. thanks so much for the shout out

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  2. Such a great idea! I love having these like these for dinner parties!

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  3. Love how these are in individual servings! Sounds great!

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  4. Dear Anita-

    Please hide the dog and put some of these under the table with the goat cheese sandwiches.
    Thank you

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  5. Not only are these cuter than cute, but I could just EAT them up! YUM!!!

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  6. easy and something the kids will love, thanx!

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  7. Love this idea!!! I need to make some of these for Michael! :)

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  8. I love this idea, so cute and playful!

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  9. This is very clever. We eat Mexican food all of the time but never quite like this...the cupcake idea is super cute.

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  10. Wowsers, this is fabulous. I could eat 12 of them. Of course that defeats the healthy part right.

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  11. I am so happy to find this. I think these will work so well in my toaster oven. We have to leave the regular oven off until late September and I am always looking for solutions. Thank you for linking this up at Weekend Potluck. pinning

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  12. my sister is allergic to flour, can i use the corn tortilla's thanks

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    1. Hi Becky! Absolutely you can use a different tortilla. It needs to be something soft that can fit into the muffin cup but any non-flour flat bread will work fine. I hope your sister enjoys it.

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  13. These look great... my family will eat anything Mexican. I'll have to give them a try. :)

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  14. These are too cute! It makes me kinda hate being a vegetarian...but I could always try a meat-free version instead!

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  15. What a great idea they look delicious. I am making these for sure, I think they will be a 5 star in my house, thanks for sharing.

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  16. These look absolutely AMAZING! I think I am going to have to try them tonight for dinner!

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  17. Thanks for the post; it has blog to be exactly I needed. I appreciate the information, well thought for anybody. Thank you For sharing.

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  18. What a super duper fun way to eat some Tex-Mex! Cool!

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  19. These are right up my alley! I must make these!

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