Saturday Night Tacos
This is the story of a food blogger who eats the same exact meal every Saturday night, but has never shared the “recipe” for it on her food blog. Seems a bit ridiculous, right? Let’s correct this little oversight.
I explained a bit about the tradition behind Fox Family Saturday Night Tacos in an earlier post, but then shared a completely different taco recipe for some reason. Basically, FFSNT are a quick, simple, and affordable way to feed a crowd (or just two). Plus, it’s one food that nobody in our family seems to tire of. Seriously, we’re completely content making and eating them every single week!
I learned to make these tacos with my mom while I was growing up, and now my husband and I have carried on the tradition. I’ve taken over most of my mom’s old roles, while Jeff has taken on my old responsibilities. It’s a meal that I know the two of us can make in 20 minutes or less, every single time. Here’s how it goes down:
First, Jeff and I get in the kitchen and turn on some music or Detroit Tigers baseball. We tell our dog Izzy “on the wood,” which is her cue to stay on the wood floor of the nearby dining room instead of the tile kitchen floor. Sometimes it works, other times (when a piece of cheese falls on the floor), not so much.
I stand near the stove and stir the ground beef as it browns. I also dice some onion and throw that in with the meat. Jeff is on the other side of our tiny kitchen, shredding the extra sharp cheddar cheese (none of that pre-shredded stuff in our house!). We just got a brand new cheese grater with razor sharp blades, so we’re both a bit terrified of it. But Jeff powers through and the cheese is nicely grated onto a small plate.
I cut up the crunchy lettuce and juicy tomato, and toss them together in a bowl, with lots of salt and pepper. This is definitely a Fox Family thing. I’ve never seen another family toss the lettuce and tomato for tacos together, like a fine seasoned salad. But it’s just what we’ve always done, and I love it that way.
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Jeff and I have now made this meal together so many times that it’s practically a synchronized event. While I’m finishing up the lettuce and tomato, he’s setting the table, getting out the hot sauce, and pouring the pop (that’s soda to you non-Michiganders).
By now, the meat is cooked through, so Jeff takes that over. He takes it to the sink and spoons away any excess grease. I bring him the taco seasoning mix to stir in. While he’s doing that, I’m getting an old skillet out and pouring a little oil into it for frying the tortillas.
The meat, lettuce/tomato and cheese are all on the table, so all that’s left to do is fry the tortillas. Jeff grabs a stack of paper towels, and I get out my big “tortilla fork.” One at a time, I gently slide flour and corn tortillas into the hot oil and cook them just a few seconds per side until they’ve crisped up, bubbled, and browned a slight bit. It’s the one food in our house that we fry, and it’s a special treat each week.
I use my the big fork to transfer the tortillas to the paper towels, and Jeff blots them, folds them, and puts them on our plates. This is my favorite part of the tradition – when we’re side by side, cooking together, just enjoying each other’s company. I know it sounds (extra sharp Cheddar) cheesy, but I always look at him while we’re doing this, and think about how thankful I am to have found a man willing to eat tacos every single week!
After just twenty minutes of kitchen time, it’s time to join Izzy in the dining room and dig in. With my crazy food blogging and freelancing career, we eat different (and most of the time, very random) meals almost every night, but these tacos are the one thing we know we can depend on each Saturday. And every single week, they taste just as good as we remembered.
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Saturday Night Tacos
Ingredients
- ½ pound ground beef
- ¼ cup finely chopped white onion
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning mix
- 1 medium tomato chopped
- 3 cups shredded lettuce
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Flour and/or corn tortillas
- 3 ounces extra sharp Cheddar cheese shredded
- Hot sauce or salsa for serving
Instructions
- In large skillet, cook meat and onion over medium-high heat 8 to 10 minutes or until cooked through, breaking up meat with side of spoon. When meat is cooked through, remove from heat and spoon away any excess fat. Transfer to serving bowl and stir in seasoning mix.
- Meanwhile, in medium bowl, toss together lettuce, tomato and salt and pepper to taste.
- In medium skillet, heat about 1/4 inch of oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. One at a time, gently slide in tortillas and cook 6 to 8 seconds per side or to desired crispness. Transfer to paper towel to blot any excess oil.
- Assemble tacos with tortillas, meat, lettuce/tomato, cheese and hot sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
- Nutrition doesn’t include your choice of taco shells.
Sometimes it is the simplest recipes that mean the most to us and your means more family time and that is pretty special!
Thanks Sophia. I agree! I wouldn’t even call this a “recipe,” since it’s so gosh-darn simple. But we love it!
I am so very proud of the write-up, honey. I had no idea, when I married into the Fox family, that I was also committing to a life full of very regimented taco saturdays. But, I couldn’t be happier on both accounts.
Haha, I’m the same way about pizza. It’s such a cliche, but I eat it pretty much every Friday night. These tacos look delicious! I will have to make Saturday my taco night now too!
Oh, growing up, my family ate pizza most Sunday nights! We never got tired of that one, either!
I loved reading the description of you and Jeff making these. You guys are so synchronized, it’s like dancing partners in a ballet…with tacos! I could get down with eating this meal every week. That final photo of the finished product is making me drool!
Exactly, it’s like a choreographed dance routine! We’ll probably have it down to 18 minutes flat in a few years 🙂
Great job, Lor. Of course I loved the story……Mom
I am craving these tacos NOW!
I would eat those tacos ANY night of the week! LOVE THEM!
I love the idea of putting the veggies together. It makes so
much sense. It almost turns into a salsa. I’m trying this tonight.
Hope your tacos were great, Ellen!