Muffin tin taco bowls

I really like the idea of using muffin tins to make something besides cupcakes. At a recent B&B stay, we were served breakfast eggs (with cheese and salsa) that were cooked in muffin tins. So when I saw the following kid friendly recipes in the February 2006 issue of Parenting magazine, I was glad to finally have some recipes to try out.

Taco Bowls
Yield: 20 taco bowls

Ingredients:

1. 10 6-inch flour torillas
2. 1 lb ground turkey
3. 1.25-oz package of taco seasoning mix
4. 8-oz. package shredded reduced-fat monterey jack cheese
5. 8-oz. package shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.
2. Trim about 1/2 inch from the edge of each tortilla with clean scissors or kitchen shears. Push the trotillas into nonstick muffin tins and bake for 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a nonstick pan, saute turkey over medium heat, breaking apart large chunks and stirring occasionally until the meat is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add taco seasoning mix and 2/3 cup water and simmer meat about 5 minutes.
4. Fill each tortilla cup with 2 tablespoons of cooked ground meat and top with a large pinch each of shredded cheeses.
5. Bake 10-12 minutes until the cheese is melted and cups start to brown.
6. Serve with salsa.

Suggestions:

• Use another kind of ground meat, meat substitute, or shredded pork or beef. This would be a great recipe for leftover meat as well.
• Use corn torillas instead of flour – better tasting and more fiber.
• You can also serve with avocados.
• Try using non-fat refried beans instead of meat.

Pizza Bites
Yield: 16 pizzas

Ingredients:

1. 13-oz can premade pizza dough
2. 1 cup pizza sauce
3. 1 cup shreeded reduced-fat mozzarella
4. 16 slices pepperoni

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees. Roll out pizza dough to a rectangle about 10×13 inches. Cut out circles with a 3 inch  cookie cutter.
2. Press each circle in bottom of muffin tins and bake 10 to 12 minutes or until dough is golden. Remove from oven.
3. Top each piece of dough with 1 tablespoon each of pizza sauce and cheese. Top with 1 slice of pepperoni.
4. Increase oven to 400 degrees and return tin to oven for 5 to 10 minutes until cheese is melted and golden brown.

Suggestions:

• Substitute veggies for pepperoni.
• These would make great finger food at adult parties, too.
• Great use for leftover sauce.

Posted on March 5, 2006 in Recipes and tagged as ground meat

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