Grilled Tacos

The other day my friend, Jen, and I were at the store and tired as all get out. On our way to the checkout stand she stopped while staring at what I thought was a random shelf. She had me grab a box of flat-bottomed taco shells, a can of re-fried beans, and a jar of salsa. She promised that dinner was going to be quick and easy.

This recipe is the same, only I'm cooking it outside. It's too hot to cook inside. I threw my ground beef, beans, salsa, a can opener, and a spatula in a bag. I have cast iron that's dedicated to the grill. I lined my grill basket with aluminum foil, and took it all outside.

After browning the ground beef, I added the salsa, stirred, and cooked a minute more to let the flavors meld. Then I added the beans, turned off the heat, and stirred it all together. Doesn't that look horrible? It's NOT. I didn't claim this was a healthy meal, just convenient and tasty. If you'd like to make it healthier, you could make your own beans and salsa. 😏

I've got a 4-burner grill. I turned the two outer burners on "high". I cooked my tacos in between the burners, with indirect heat. I've pretty much learned that when I do this, the closed-lid temp is 350 degrees. I filled the shells with as much bean/meat/salsa as I could and cooked for 20 minutes with the lid closed. 

While the tacos were on the grill, I picked some lettuce from my salad garden. Lettuce is so easy to grow. If I had tomatoes growing, I would have picked one for the tacos. My tomatoes aren't ready and I hate to buy a store-bought tomato. Tonight we do without.

I cut a chiffonade with the lettuce, grated some cheese, and sliced some black olives. I love olives. At this point occurs to me that I can sure be a snob about grated cheese, while using canned beans. Pick and choose.....

Then, I stacked those tacos full! A spoonful of sour cream and a dash of pepper sauce and it's ready to eat.

Pop a cold brew and dinner is ready.

I doubled this recipe for leftovers (except for the taco shells). I can use tortillas and make burritos, or use some chips and I've got nachos. These are leftovers that you will want.

• 10 flat-bottomed taco shells
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 can (16 oz) re-fried beans
• 8 oz chunky salsa
• handful of lettuce
• tomato, chopped
• sliced black olives
• 8 oz sour cream
• 1 C grated cheddar
• pepper sauce (I used a green Cholula)