Stacked Tacos

Seasoned beef, spooned into crisp taco shells and warmed in the oven as a stack. As the shells warm and crisp up, the cheese melts into the beef, creating one magical blend of crunchy shell and cheesy, beefy filling.

Why stack the tacos? So you can fit the tacos in a baking dish and heat everything at once. That means you can also serve everyone at once!

We put rice in our tacos: Do you? My boys like a combination of beef, rice, lettuce, cheese, and hot sauce. For this recipe, I put cooked (seasoned) rice in the bottom of the taco shells and then added the beef mixture and cheese. That way, everything comes together at once - the rice and beef heat through and the cheese melts. It's perfection. If you want add rice, add 2 cups cooked rice to the recipe (or use one of those microwavable rice pouches).

Stacked Tacos

1 pound lean ground beef
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and ground black pepper
2/3 cup beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
8-12 taco shells (2-3 tacos per person)
2 cups cooked rice, optional (see note above)
1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
Suggested fillings: 
Chopped green onions
Shredded lettuce
Diced tomatoes
Sour cream
Black olives
Hot sauce

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Brown the beef in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking up the meat as it cooks. If necessary, drain away any fat and return the beef to the skillet over medium heat. Add the chili powder, cumin, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Stir to coat. Add the broth and tomato paste and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Arrange the taco shells in the bottom of a baking dish, or several individual baking dishes (I used small baking dishes and put three tacos in each one). Fill the shells with the rice (if using) and beef mixture. Top the beef with the cheese.
Place the casserole dish(es) in the oven and bake for 5 to 7 minutes, until the cheese melts and the taco shells are crisp.
Serves with desired fillings on the side.

Serves 4