(I received free product from Hormel Taco Meats; all opinions are my own.)

We love Mexican food in our house and tacos are some of our favorites. Any night when I need an easy and delicious dinner in a hurry, my go-to is tacos. Having people over and don’t know what to serve? Tacos it is. Need to clean out the fridge or pantry? Usually that means tacos (or breakfast for dinner, but that’s another post). And of course there’s Taco Tuesday (which in our house is sometimes Taco Thursday or Taco Saturday… pretty much any day that ends in “y”).

Typically we’re partakers of the simple, soft taco variety (bet you never thought you’d hear partakers and taco used in the same sentence, did you?), but sometimes I want a little something extra so I’ll fry up some shells for us. 

Only… they seem to get pretty greasy and I usually end up making most of them too well done. I blame my kids distracting me. Last time I wanted to try something a little different and bake them, and they turned out great! just the right amount of crispy crunch, still soft enough to eat, perfect!

All you have to do is heat up a large pan on the stove and melt a couple of tablespoons of butter in it. Once the pan is hot then fry each tortilla for a quick minute, you’re basically just heating the tortilla up.

Then insert the warm, buttered tortilla into small mason jars to form cups. Place mason jars on a cookie sheet and bake at 350° for 5-10 minutes, depending on how “done” you want them.

Then all that’s left is to fill them up with whatever yummy ingredients you want! I just had some lettuce, Hormel taco meats, and salsa in mine and it was delicious. It was so simple too, thanks to the Hormel taco meats that are already cooked and seasoned, you just have to warm them up again in the microwave or on the stove top (my preference). My husband added refried beans and cheese with his taco meat and lettuce, and my kids had some deconstructed taco cups (because, heaven forbid our food actually TOUCH!) with just some lettuce and delicious shredded chicken on their plates.

You can choose to eat your taco cups with a fork out of the jar, or take them out of the jar and eat with your hands. It doesn’t get much simpler than that!

Not only is this the perfect way to step you mid-week dinner night up a notch, but wouldn’t this be so great at a Cinco de Mayo party? Hand held foods are always prefect for gatherings so people can walk around and mingle.

Do you guys love tacos in your house? We’re only slightly obsessed. ; )

Have you tried the Hormel taco meats yet? So far I’ve tried the shredded pork and shredded chicken, there are still four more I haven’t tried yet!