Taco Night with a Twist

So, I have never been one to be the "stay at home" kind, however, with the introduction of Pinterest a couple of months ago, that is quickly changing. All I want is to own a sewing machine, do arts and crafts, and cook ALL DAY LONG!!!! The cooking is very much appreciated by my honey so on that part he is all on board! :-) I love finding recipes amongst all kinds of treasures. I stumbled upon a recipe called Taco Ring on a fantastic website http://kendallandkeith.blogspot.com/ and I was ecstatic to try this recipe. Her website is so much fun so definitely check it out if you have a chance. I have to invest in a battery charger so bear with me. These pictures come from my phone but you can go over to Kendall's website. My results look identical to hers just pictures are bad. Artie and I devoured it and it made awesome leftovers. 

Taco Ring

Ingredients:

2 cans crescent rolls

1 egg white, lightly whisked

1-1.5 lbs lean ground beef

1 pkg taco seasoning

1 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I always keep Mexican in the fridge so I used that)

2 Tbsp water

optional: refried beans of your choice

Taco toppings of your choosing

        -lettuce

        -sour cream

        -guacamole

        -salsa

        -you get the picture :-)

The grocery shopping is the hard part!! Trust me...

First preheat your over to 375 degrees. Brown your meat while the oven preheats. 

While the meat browns away, pull your crescent rolls apart and fan them out on a sprayed cookie sheet or sprayed pizza pan. 

Depending on the type of ground beef, once it is done, drain it. I bought 93/7 so I had almost nothing to drain. I am going to use turkey next time I decide to make this. Mix in your taco seasoning with your ground beef. 

Add about 1 & 1/2 cups of the shredded cheese. I just took handfuls until it looks like it was cheesy enough for our liking. 

Also add about 2 tbsp of water to the meat and mix up everything well. 

I added refried beans to the recipe. Next time, I may use refried black beans instead. I spread about a little less than half around making sure to leave a little bit of the dough visible on the inside for when you have to seal it later. 

Then spread the meat mixture on top of the beans. 

Bring the dough over the meat and press down to seal on the inside. 

Brush the outside of the dough with the egg whites. It will give it a delicious golden color. 

Spread the rest of the cheese along the top of the ring. YUM!!! 

  

Bake for 25 minutes :-)

Some parts look dark but it was such a beautiful golden color. Top with the taco toppings of your choice. I decided to cut them up and leave them on the side so my honey could top his with whatever he wanted. This was my plate. The corn salsa was an amazing addition as a side dish. 

ENJOY!!!

Corn Salsa

(courtesy of: http://mcconkiemenu.blogspot.com/2011/09/corn-salsa.html#links)

6 large tomatoes, diced
3 cans corn, drained
2 cans black eyed peas, drained
1 can black beans, drained
3 large avacados, diced
1 bunch green onions
1 bunch cilantro
1 large bottle fat free Zesty Italian dressing

I cut this recipe in half and still made A HUGE BATCH!! 

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and toss. That is it!!! Easy isn't it?!?!? AND SOOOO YUMMY!!