Taco Pie

Today I want to highlight one of our lunch menu items.  A long time ago I used to have chili buns on the menu – they were popular but any meal items that need to be assembled on the individual plates I find are too time consuming.  I much prefer to prepare ‘all-in-one’ meals like Layered French Toast that can be prepared in advance and are easier to serve to a group.

Taco Pie is like that – essentially a chili bun casserole type meal – perfect.  In the morning I start by making chili;

• 1 796 ml can diced tomatoes
• 1 540 ml can of black beans
• 1 284 ml can of tomato soup
• 1 lb ground beef, scramble fried
• 1/4 cup taco seasoning (approximately – maybe more – I don’t measure it, I just dump some in until it looks/smells right).
• salt, pepper, chili flakes, paprika, (to taste)
• Salsa (optional – sometimes I add some, sometimes I don’t, never measure)

These all simmer for an hour or so while I grate cheese, prepare the crust and do any other necessary tasks before the children arrive.  This is the biscuit crust recipe – this I measure;

• 4 cups whole wheat flour
• 8 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 cups milk

Stir dry ingredients together in a bowl.  Make a well in center and pour in milk and mayonnaise.  Mix to moisten and then press into bottom of a greased 9×13 baking pan.  Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven, sprinkle crust with grated cheese, pour chili over top, cover with crushed corn chips and some more grated cheese.

At this point I suppose you could just bake it a little longer to melt the cheese and then serve it but because I prepare it very early in the morning I cover it with foil and put it in a 175 degree oven until lunch – it is ready for us whenever we are done playing.

 

Chili or Not

Chili is not one of my preferred menu items but many of the children like it so we currently have chili buns once every four weeks.

Lately the children seem to be growing tired of  some of the menu items including chili buns  so I’ve been going through my recpies with the intention of changing a few of the menu items.

I came across a quinoa chili recipe and decided to try it to see if the children like it better than the regular chili.  It starts with a whole lot of vegetables;

Carrots, onions, peppers (red, green and jalapeno), and zucchini sauted together.  Then crushed tomatoes, frozen corn, garlic, cooked quinoa, two cans of beans and some spices (salt,  pepper, cumin, and chili powder) are added.

Simmer — Mmmm smells good.

For the preschoolers I cut the buns into cubes before topping with chili — easier to eat that way.  Then cheddar cheese is sprinkled on top.

I found the quinoa chili was not as saucy as the regular chili so the buns didn’t soak up the chili as well.  The children still seemed to enjoy it but no one wanted seconds and I have far too much leftover chili. Good thing I like quinoa chili better than beef chili.

Still, I think that it may be time to remove chili buns from the menu.