It’s been a month of food mashups here on the Spend Smart. Eat Smart. blog, and today I get to wrap up the series.
I grew up on a farm in western Iowa that raised cattle. My parents and brother’s family continue to raise cattle, so I always have ground beef in my freezer. I have a variety of ways I like to use ground beef when making my family meals. Occasionally, though, I like to try something new. Since my family likes tacos, I decided to try making taco meatballs by combining our Meatballs recipe with our Taco Seasoning Mix.
In place of the whole wheat breadcrumbs, I used ½ cup crushed tortilla chips. Then I replaced the sweet chili sauce with 2 tablespoons of the Taco Seasoning Mix. I also added ¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese to the mixture before shaping the meatballs. The meatballs had a mild taco flavoring. When I make them again, I will add a ¼ cup of salsa to give them a stronger flavor. You could also add some chopped jalapeno if you wanted to make them a bit spicier.
The meatballs were good in a taco rice bowl with brown rice, lettuce, tomato, salsa, sour cream, and guacamole. I think they would also be good as an appetizer to dip into salsa, sour cream, or guacamole.
Now that you’ve read about our food mashups, see what mashups you can come up with. Keep in mind that sometimes they turn out great on the first try, and other times, you might have to adjust the recipe a second time around. Be creative!
