Taco Stew

This taco stew is the recipe most requested by anyone who knows my mom and now you can try it too! It’s like taco soup but thicker like a chili.

Taco stew is an easy weeknight dinner recipe that the whole family loves. We love to top it with our favorite taco toppings and everyone can totally customize their own bowl. 

So I call this a stew because I add potatoes, carrots and peas to it. That totally qualifies as stew, right?! It’s a little more hearty and chunky than our Instant Pot taco soup or even our taco ground beef chili.

Ok, back to the toppings…there’s something about the Fritos and the soup. I’m serious. I never, and I mean never, think to buy Fritos, but they are a total necessity for topping off the taco stew. I think it’s that crunchy corn taste that works so well with everything.

Ingredients for Taco Stew

I love that this recipe is mostly a pantry meal. It is so nice when you’re on a tight budget or just don’t have time to get to the store. It also cannot be easier! Here is what you will need:

• Yukon Gold Potatoes: yukons have the best flavor and keep the best texture when added to a soup or stew – you could also use red potatoes as a substitute
• Carrots: peeled and cut into bite size pieces
• Onion: just a yellow onion works great
• Hamburger: 80/20 or 85/15 works great – if you want to go a little healthier, try ground turkey or chicken
• Frozen Peas: just toss them in frozen, and they’ll be heated through in no time
• Diced Tomatoes: you can use any brand you want
• Tomato Sauce: any brand works great
• Taco Seasoning: you can use a store bought packet or make your own
• Corn: just open a can of corn and toss it in, no need to drain
• Chili Beans: pinto beans or black beans also will work great, undrained
• Kidney Beans: no need to drain these either

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe at the end of the post. 

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Southern Macaroni and Cheese [+ Video]

When we think of macaroni and cheese we always think of Grandma Carol’s ultimate comfort food, her cheesy Southern Macaroni and Cheese!

It’s so nice when we get to go back to the Carolinas to visit family; we wish we could go more often. There’s so much history there, and we love to see it all. As much as we love to visit all the places, we can’t wait to get together with family for some good old family food favorites and great chats. When we get together with Grandma Carol and Grandpa Lou, it is a sure bet that one of the dishes will be macaroni and cheese and that not one morsel will be left in the dish at the end of the meal.

We

Brown Butter Spaghetti Squash Recipe

Tonight was “see-what-you-can-make-for-dinner-with-whatever-is-in-the-fridge” and this brown butter spaghetti squash recipe was the result. It is seriously one of my absolute must-haves for fall! Buttery squash with a hint of nuttiness from the pine nuts and savory goodness from the squash, gosh it’s good!

You could easily substitute any veggies or meat that you like-or leave the meat out for a vegetarian meal.

When I was younger one of my friends decided to be a vegetarian. I was shocked! I grew up in a meat and potatoes home. My mother was from Idaho and my father from Oregon so we ate meat with every single dinner. That was the farm way. It was not however her way. I didn’t understand what a vegetarian was really other then you didn’t eat meat. That was enough to stop my inquiries as who could possibly eat dinner without meat? I don’t think it was a nutritious decision at all either.

As soon as she went vegetarian she also went overboard on the candy. No joke. She wouldn’t eat meat so she ate quite the plethora of candy instead. Whaaaaa? I think she missed the boat there a bit, but I’m quite certain she is back to meat eating. And even if she wasn’t, I’ve personally discovered that eating vegetarian for a few meals a week is actually quite awesome. Our bodies actually love the whole “meat sparingly” concept. Fancy that. 😉 We have several plant based and vegetarian recipes on the blog now, and they are some of my favorites!

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Easy Biscuit Chicken Pot Pie

Imagine that creamy, crave-worthy chicken pot pie filling that you can’t resist and top it with golden, flaky buttermilk biscuits, and you have the most delicious family-friendly dinner ever!

It feels like a lot of our days are busy lately but there’s just nothing that can take the place of family dinner. Our chicken pot pie recipe remains one of our most popular recipes on the site, but I know how intimidating a pie crust could be so I’ve come up with a biscuit version. And not only that, but the semi homemade version comes together in no time!

I’m going to give you both a homemade and semi homemade version because when I first started cooking this, I used the canned soups I learned on. It taught me what veggies work and the perfect biscuit-to-filling ratio. We all have to start somewhere, and I’m a huge fan of teaching simple methods and then moving into completely homemade.

You will find two recipe cards at the end of the post, one for each version. So you can pick the one that fits your schedule and desires.

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Nothing says summer quite like a good burger! This time we are teaching you how to make a perfect smash burger and there’s one secret that is life-changing.

Look, I don’t know why smashing a burger, literally the one thing you should NEVER do to meat totally works in this recipe, but it does. Ok, I do actually know why, it’s because it caramelizes every single piece of that patty thus making for more flavor in each bite, but the point is, it doesn’t make sense and so therefore you should absolutely eat it. 

It’s kind of like that crazy wedge salad story; it’s simple and therefore it’s the beeeeeest!

Cade and I discovered smash burgers when we were in our first few years of marriage and I think it’s actually what kind of turned me from burger hater to burger enjoyer and now lover. I still loooove a crispy chicken sandwich, don’t you get me wrong, but a smash burger will always make my mouth water. 

They are juicy, buttery, and have those crispy edges that are the star of this burger show. And the best thing about this is that smash burgers are simple and cook so fast…exactly what you want to feed the fam on a busy summer weeknight or to feed a crowd for your 4th of July festivities!

Ingredients for Smash Burgers

There’s nothing crazy going on with these ingredients. The crazy comes in the cooking technique, so your ingredient list looks like this:

Burger Patties

• Canola Oil
• Burger Buns
• Butter
• Ground Beef (60/40) – this probably sounds crazy, but just ask your butcher and trust me on this one…all the flavor comes in the higher fat content!
• Salt
• Pepper

Toppings

• American Cheese
• Lettuce
• Killer Burger Sauce
• Pickles
• White Onion

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card down below.