Taco Tuesday: Do We Really Have to Eat Tacos Every Week?

I woke up this morning thinking about #TacTuesday and what we was having for dinner this evening. We all like Taco’s but celebrating them every week gets tired. Although, I was going to make Taco’s last night but Charlie decided he wanted to have Biscuit Pizza’s and I was excited to have them because we don’t get them to often.

Even though tonight is Taco Tuesday. National Taco Day. Taco night. Taco bar. Taco Tuesday specials. At some point, I have to ask the important questions. Who started all of this taco business? And more importantly… Why do they expect us to eat tacos every single week?

Don’t get me wrong. I like tacos. There are plenty of tacos I enjoy, and I certainly wouldn’t turn one down just because somebody offered me one. But tacos every Tuesday? Every week? Every Tuesday of the year and we know there is 365 days a year? SO how many Tuesdays does that make? I don’t think so.

I have a question for you somewhere along the way, somebody decided that tacos needed their own special day. And then somebody else apparently decided that wasn’t enough because we also needed Taco Tuesday. I’m beginning to think the taco people have a very good marketing department.

Think about it. Monday: Nobody really wants to cook. Tuesday: TACOS! Wednesday: We’re halfway through the week. Thursday: Almost Friday. Friday: It’s Friday! Saturday: Who wants to cook? Sunday: We should probably have a nice family dinner. And then suddenly… It’s Taco Tuesday again.

How did we get here again? Here’s where I may be different from some of you. I could eat tacos. I could eat tacos several times a month. I could even go through a taco phase where I think tacos are the greatest food ever invented. But every single Tuesday? Nope.

Eventually I’d be sitting at the dinner table looking at that taco and thinking: “Didn’t we just do this?” And if you told me I had to eat tacos every Tuesday for a year which we all know is 365 days a year, I might have to stage a taco intervention. There are just too many other foods out there!

Sometimes I want spaghetti. Sometimes I want chicken. Sometimes I want a big ol’ steak. Sometimes I want soup. Sometimes I might not want anything. And tonight, as a matter of fact, we’re having Aldi Halloween spaghetti.Yes, you heard me right Halloween Spaghetti.

See? The taco didn’t even make the dinner table today. And that’s okay. So why are we celebrating National Taco Day? Because tacos are fun! That’s really the best answer I can come up with. Food holidays give us an excuse to enjoy something we already love, try something new, or simply have a little fun with dinner.

And tacos are one of those foods that can be completely different depending on what you put inside them. Beef tacos. Chicken tacos. Fish tacos. Bean tacos. Breakfast tacos. Cheese tacos. Soft tacos. Crunchy tacos. Street tacos. Taco bowls. And apparently, if you keep going long enough, you eventually get to the point where we’re putting taco ingredients into everything except an actual taco.

Which brings me to today’s recipe. The Un-Taco If you love the flavors of tacos but don’t necessarily want to eat another taco, why not make an Un-Taco? It’s everything you love about taco night—seasoned meat, beans, cheese and toppings—without actually putting it all inside a taco shell. Think of it as taco night taking the night off.

Easy Un-Taco Taco Bake

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 1 can refried beans
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 cup shredded Mexican-blend or cheddar cheese
• Tortilla chips
• Optional toppings: lettuce, tomato, onion, sour cream, jalapeños, olives or avocado

Directions:

1. Brown the ground beef in a skillet and drain any excess grease.
2. Add the taco seasoning and whatever amount of water your seasoning packet calls for. Stir and let it simmer until the meat is seasoned and the liquid has cooked down.
3. Spread the refried beans in the bottom of a small baking dish.
4. Spoon the seasoned taco meat over the beans.
5. Spread the salsa over the top.
6. Sprinkle generously with shredded cheese.
7. Bake at 350°F for about 15–20 minutes, or until everything is hot and the cheese is melted.
8. Add your favorite taco toppings.
9. Grab some tortilla chips and scoop it up!

And there you have it. An Un-Taco. All the taco flavor. None of the taco shell. And absolutely no requirement that you make it on Tuesday.

Now I’m curious. Could you really eat tacos every single Tuesday for a year? Maybe you could. Maybe you have enough taco combinations that you’d never get bored. Or maybe, like me, you’d eventually look at that Tuesday taco and say: “Honey, I love you, but I need some spaghetti.”

So today, while everybody else may be celebrating National Taco Day, we’re doing our Halloween spaghetti from Aldi. And tomorrow? Who knows. Maybe tacos. Maybe not. That’s the beauty of dinner. You get to decide. Happy Taco Tuesday—and happy National Taco Day whenever you decide to celebrate it! And if you don’t feel like eating tacos today… Well, there’s always the Un-Taco.

Are you having Taco’s for dinner tonight? If so make me a Puffed Taco and I might change my mind about our dinner plans tonight.

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Grateful. Thankful. Blessed.

Gracias,

Glenda, Charlie and David Cates