Taco Tuesday

It's been ever so slightly warming up around here. The boys have been enjoying being able to play outside for more than 20 minutes at a time (sidenote- I'm enjoying them playing outside for more than 20 minutes at a time as well).

Mac is busy gathering ice. For what? I don't know. Do I question his logic? Nnnnnope.

On Monday night I ran to the mall for a quick shopping trip. J. Crew had a ton of winter clearance under $9.99. Score!

Selfie skillz. Or not.

Cute story- our boys' daycare provider always fed them tacos on Tuesday, so whenever I make tacos now, Fred doesn't get that the word is just "taco"- it's always "tacotuesday!"

Tacos are my husband's favorite meal, but I wanted to mix it up a bit. Enter baked potatoes! To decarb it a bit and make room for the meat and toppings, I scooped out most of the flesh. It's a pretty easy meal that can be made in advance and popped in the oven or microwave to reheat. Let's check it out.

Taco Stuffed Baked Potatoes
-4 Russet baking potatoes, washed and patted dry
-1 lb extra lean (93% or higher) ground beef
-1 packet low sodium taco seasoning
-1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used a "Fiesta blend")
-Optional toppings: store made pico de gallo, diced avocados, chopped green onions, chopped sweet onions, salsa, Greek yogurt (instead of sour cream), jalapenos, etc.

1. If baking the potatoes, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pierce the skin of the potato with a fork in two places. Bake for 90 minutes. Alternatively you could microwave the potatoes according to your microwave's instructions. It's usually a variation of cook five minutes, flip over, cook for about five more minutes.
2. While potatoes cook, saute ground beef over medium high heat. Add taco seasoning + 1/4 cup of water. Simmer until mixture has thickened up. Remove from heat.
3. To assemble potatoes, cut in half length-wise and scoop out the majority of the flesh. Discard. Fill with meat, top with cheese, and bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes. Top with any of the above! Remember- pico, onions, salsa, and jalapenos are all vegetables so load up!

Recipe makes four servings (two halves per serving). Nutrition information given for potatoes as pictured (half a diced avocado, 1/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt, and pico de gallo): 335 calories, 25 grams carbohydrates, 11 grams fat, 29 grams protein.

Enjoy this version of tacotuesday!