How to Make Take Out Mexican at Home

Having a "Mexican Fiesta" dinner at home is so easy and quick, you'll find yourself going back to it again and again. Everyone in the family loves tacos; they're messy, delicious and include all of the food groups!

For tacos, you'll need soft or hard tortillas or shells, shredded lettuce and cheddar cheese, chopped tomatoes, onions and bell pepper, as well as salsa, sour cream and guacamole, if you prefer. For the taco filling, chose one pound of ground beef or thinly chopped chicken breast, and sauté in a frying pan until cooked through. Then add about ½ cup each chopped onion and bell pepper, cooking until onion is translucent. Next add 3-4 tablespoons of chili powder, and 2 teaspoons salt, pepper and garlic powder and stir to combine. Next, add two to three tablespoons of tomato paste and ¼ cup of water, cooking until water is reduced to a sauce, stirring frequently. Taste to test seasonings and alter as necessary. Serve on warmed tortillas with toppings.

Along with your tacos, you can make your own refried beans. Just start by sautéing a half-cup of white onion and a little olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Once the onions are translucent, add one sixteen-ounce can of whole pinto beans that have been rinsed and drained. Cook beans over medium to medium-high heat, adding a little bit of water at a time to keep beans from drying out, and mashing beans with a potato masher or two forks. You can add a salt now, as little as ¼ teaspoon or as much as 2 tablespoons, depending on your taste. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese. If you prefer rice, use pre-packaged Mexican rice for an easy side item.

Another delicious accompaniment for your tacos is Mexican corn cake, and as a bonus, it's sweet - so it can double as desert. It's easy enough to prepare if you can locate the main ingredient: masa harina, which is simply Mexican corn flour. In a large bowl, beat one stick (or ½ cup) salted butter until creamy, then add about a third of a cup of the masa harina, along with a quarter cup of water. Next, mix one cup of yellow corn with ½ cup of canned creamed corn and stir it into the dough mixture. In a medium bowl, mix together two tablespoons of milk, half & half or heavy cream, 1/3 cup each sugar and cornmeal and ½ teaspoon each salt and baking powder. Add this to corn dough mixture and mix well until completely combined. Then bake in a buttered casserole dish at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about an hour.

Margaritas and chips with salsa go perfectly with this dinner. If you need a dessert, a simple dish of vanilla ice cream drizzled with warm caramel sauce is a good option. Make extra and invite friends over to share, serving all of the food family style.