The food is moving... ahhh and now its going camping. Ha ha no. Well sort of. These hand held meals are called Tacos in a sleeping bag. Similar to their cousins the pizza pocket and "walking tacos", these are SUPER easy and SUPER kid friendly. Can you tell I am SUPER excited about these? The name, tacos in a sleeping bag, alone is amazing to my son. Its playful, and fun. He smiles so big every time I ask him if he wants some. The idea that this is a healthy freezer hot lunch from a make ahead meal is amazing to me. It takes only a minute to heat up in the microwave or a few more minutes in the oven. Love this!
Okay so the idea of a stuffing meat + cheese into bread/dough isn't new at all.... its the flavor combo that IS new. Changing the pizza pocket into like a Mexican-Style pocket. It's just taking a good idea and making it better. Have you ever seen kids eat tacos... ugh. Messy. I usually roll my sons tacos up like burritos just to eliminate the mess. This is just like that. Almost mess free. Besides just trying this because the name is cool, the other cool "mom" thing is that you could stuff anything in this. I added tomatoes because we always put tomatoes on our tacos. But you could throw a bit of corn into these or cilantro or whatever. Depending on the veg you should think about sauting it because you want it soft and cooked before you bake it. Chop finely and think little amounts. One half of tomato was just fine for all 12 I did. And if you are eating at table serve it with all the rest of the taco fixin's. It will taste almost exactly like a taco with some guac and sour cream and lettuce and or salsa. If you are on the go just have them eat it as is.
Makes 12
Kid serving size 1 or 2
Adult serving size 3 or 4
Recipe adapted from: http://onceamonthmom.com/tacos-in-a-sleeping-bag-kid-friendly
Ingredients for Tacos in a Sleeping Bag:
1/2 lb lean ground turkey or beef ( I used ground turkey breast)
1/2 can approx 3 or 4 oz of mild chopped green chillies
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs taco seasoning or 1 packet
1/4 yellow onion (will be grated in over the skillet)
1/2 medium tomato, seeds removed and extremely finely chopped
pizza dough, homemade or store bought
approx 1/2 -3/4 cup of cheese, cheddar or whatever you like
Ingredients for Pizza dough
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 Tbs white sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Tbs yeast
1 cup hot water (not boiling)
1 cup oat flour
2 Tbs Olive oil
flour for sprinkling on counter while rolling the balls out
course corn meal for sprinkling on pan while baking
Directions:
Mix all the ingredients together to form pizza dough. If it feels sticky and is difficult to roll into one big ball add a small handful of flour and work it in... 1/8cup- 1/4 cup of flour at a time. It should be easy to work with. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes and then you can use it.While the dough is resting cook the filling for the sleeping bags. In a skillet cook the meat over medium heat with the salt, pepper, taco seasoning, and chillies until half way done. At this point grate in the onion to help give the lean meat some moisture and extra flavor.
Once the meat is fully cooked turn off the heat, and in the tomato.
When the resting time is up for the dough, sprinkle some flour on a your counter top or cutting board. Separate it into equal sections. Approx a little bit bigger than the palm of your hand. I got twelve 13/4 oz balls.
Roll each ball into a flat oval or circle
Sprinkle some course cornmeal on a flat cookie sheet or baking sheet to prevent sticking.
Seal the edges and bake at 375 for ten minutes. Flip over carefully some of the dough will be tender still. Bake for another 5 minutes for even browning without using an egg wash.
Let them sit the counter to cool off, approx 15 minutes, flash freeze them until frozen on a cookie sheet. Transfer them to a labeled freezer bag for easy lunches and dinners.
There lunch or dinner is done in less than 30 minutes and you have some extras in the freezer for next time! My son is a great eater and ate 2 at lunch today and was full. So that means in 30 minutes I made 6 lunches for him. Yay!
No running threw a drive thru or grabbing last minute reservations - head home because I know there is something already waiting and healthy.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend
From my kitchen to yours
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