We’ve hit the terrible twos! Oh boy, we’ve hit ‘em hard. Little angel turned into a little demon (at times). Amazing, seems it happened overnight. I got a break, though, he didn’t start ’til recently and is now almost 2 and a half. Counting my blessings!

Things that were (inserts best Dora voice) ‘yummy delicious’, are now steadfastly pushed to the side with a loud ‘yuck‘, not to mention a matching facial expression that annoys me as much as it secretly makes me grin. Probably just as confusing a time for me as it is for him, but we’ll make it through!

Lucky for me (and not so lucky for him), I’m not easily discouraged and am having lots of fun finding as many dishes as I can to prevent the kid from growing up on PB&J sandwiches alone.

Mexican food is definitely a kid pleaser in my house. So Dutch-Mex it is.

 

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 cup kidney beans
1 tbsp taco spices
1 red bell pepper
1 bag corn chips
2 to 3 tomatoes
grated cheese
1 cup corn
1 onions
tabasco
pepper
salt

 

Directions:

Peel (or don’t) the bell pepper and finely chop it. So many photos just for chopping a bell pepper. I know! Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa. Can’t help it, just love it when colors jump right off the screen.

 

Give your onion a good chop as well.

 

Grab as many tomatoes as you like. I only had two left or I probably would’ve upped the quantity a bit.

 

Peel them. The best way to do that is to cut a shallow x on the bottom of the tomato.

 

Grab a bowl of boiling water (think microwave) and a bowl of ice cold water.

 

Put your tomato in the boiling water for 30 seconds, this will break the connection between the skin and the flesh. Be careful not to actually boil the tomatoes. Transfer them to the ice water. Leave them in there for a while and once the tomato has cooled off the skin will slide right off.

 

Now give it a rough chop. More red, we always need more red!

 

Add 1 tbsp taco seasoning, salt (I’ve used about 1 1/2 tsp), pepper, a good splash of tabasco and a large garlic clove (or two medium cloves). Mix it all up. I really couldn’t mix it myself, I had to operate the camera, you know! I know it’s a dirty job but somebody’s gotta do it! I’ll just sacrifice myself.

 

Brown the meat and break it up in pieces. Once it’s properly cooked, let it drain – unless you’re particularily fond of clogged up arteries of course, then don’t let me stop you!

 

Sautee the onion in a tbsp oil, add the bell pepper after a minute or 3. Cook for 5 more minutes.

 

Plunge in the tomatoes, give it a good stir and put the meat back in as well.

 

Rinse and drain 1 cup kidney beans and 1 cup corn. Throw them in with the rest.

 

This is fully optional, I’m not pressuring you in any way, but if you want to get a bit of color effect in there you might consider adding a small hand dried parsley. Oh come on, live a little! Just humor me, ok! Now taste it, you can add a little more pepper, a little cayenne or a little extra taco seasoning now or just leave it as is.

 

Preheat your grill or oven. Get it as hot as you possibly can. Transfer everything to a baking dish.

 

Break out the corn chips! I’ve used nacho cheese. Top the meat with the chips, just make a little roof out of it.

 

Sprinkle some grated cheese over the chips. Pop everything in a very hot oven or grill it until the cheese has melted. You’re talking roughly two minutes.

 

Serve with home made salsa, guacamole and some sour cream on the side. I have to confess, my boy isn’t the only one who likes this! Not by a long shot!