Tacos beauty, as seen on Food Network's "The Kitchen", Season 34.
Recipe courtesy of Katie Lee Biegel

Cheesy Soft and Crunchy Drive-Thru Taco

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  • Level: Easy
  • Total: 55 min
  • Active: 50 min
  • Yield: 24 tacos
My not-so-secret guilty pleasure is going through the drive-thru for tacos. Ryan likes a gordita, so this is my "from scratch" version. It's an extra step to fry your own tortillas, but I promise you, it's worth it. Also, making the salad topping is soooo good, because the dressing gives you that extra something-something that keeps you wanting to eat more and more.

Ingredients

Taco Meat:

Salad:

Shells:

Tacos:

Directions

  1. For the taco meat: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the ground beef, using a wooden spoon to break up the meat. Meanwhile, stir in the chili powder, garlic salt, onion powder, coriander and cumin. Continue to cook until the beef has cooked through, about 8 minutes, then stir in the hot taco sauce and green taco sauce and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until nicely browned and aromatic, about 5 minutes.
  2. For the salad: In a large bowl, toss the iceberg, tomatoes, scallions, avocado and cilantro with the dressing.
  3. For the shells: Line a baking sheet with paper towels.
  4. In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until the oil is hot. Use tongs to place a corn tortilla gently in the oil. After only 5 seconds, in one motion, turn the tortilla over and fold in half. Cook 20 seconds, then flip and cook until golden brown, an additional 20 seconds. Lift out of the oil and drain on the paper towels. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, cooking one at a time. (The shells should not be too crisp when they come out of the oil. If they become too crisp, the tacos will be difficult to stuff.)
  5. For the tacos: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  6. Place the flour tortillas on a baking sheet and top each with about 2 tablespoons cheese. Bake until melted, about 2 minutes.
  7. To assemble the tacos, place one crispy shell in a flour tortilla and fold the flour tortilla up around it. Spoon the meat into the crispy shell, then top with the salad mixture, sour cream and additional shredded cheese. Serve immediately.