Taco Pie

Last night I tried something new.  I’ve been doing a lot of new things, come to think of it.  But this was something I was shocked I had never done before.  Let’s face it – I know my way around the kitchen, and sometimes I think I practically live there.  There have been days/nights I wondered why I didn’t just throw a cot in the corner for cat naps and keep going in the kitchen more.  Even through that all, I have never… EVER made… a pie.

Isn’t that ridiculous?  I own several pie plates.  I have a pie crust shield, pie crust rolling mat, I even have pie weights.  But nope.  Never made a pie!

So enough was enough.  Let’s just take the plunge.

Can I confess though, that I feel like I cheated?  No, I didn’t buy a store bought crust.  But this wasn’t your typical fill-it-with-fruit-or-some-other-gooey-goodness run-of-the-mill pie.  It was Taco Pie.  I found it on Pinterest, here.

Be still my heart.  YES it was delicious!!

[ohhh and I only feel like I cheated because it doesn’t have your typical pie-crust.  It’s more like a crust that you’d find on… cheesecakes.  Now cheesecake.  I’m experienced with those!!]

The crust is butter, milk, taco seasoning, and potato flakes.  Yes, I have potato flakes in my pantry, and NO I do not eat imitation potatoes.  I use them in other things.  Mashed potatoes have to be … mashed po-tat-oes!  *steps down from soap box*

Mix those things, mash it in the bottom of a pie plate.  Add browned meat and onions (that’s been seasoned with taco seasoning and BBQ sauce).  The original recipe said to bake it for 30-35 minutes.  Mine was in there 25 minutes and as you can tell, it shouldn’t have taken that long!

Once it cools a little bit, add a layer of cheddar cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes.  Top it with sour cream if you’d like.

WOW it’s yummy!!  It was all the greatness of tacos, but with less mess.

Although I will warn you.  If you try to serve it fresh out of the oven (as I did because 1 – I could not wait to try it, it smelled sooooo good and 2 – Oliver could not wait for mommy to feed him!) it will fall apart.  Don’t all good pies do that anyway?  :)  just trying to reassure myself.

After feeding the littlest one, I came back for seconds and it had cooled enough to actually maintain pie form.  It was just as delicious either way.

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Taco Pie

¼ cup butter
⅔ cup milk
1 package taco seasoning mix
2 ½ cups mashed potato flakes
1 pound ground beef (or deer burger, as I used)
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup barbecue sauce
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 cup sharp cheddar, shredded
sour cream, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium sauce pan, melt butter.

Add milk and 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning mix. Remove from heat and stir in potato flakes until incorporated. Press mixture over bottom of 9 inch pie plate.

In a medium skillet, cook beef and onions until beef is browned and onions are tender. Drain off fat and stir in remaining taco mix and barbecue sauce. Cook while stirring until bubbly, then pour into prepared potato crust.

Bake uncovered in oven for 25 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, and then top with cheddar cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes. Cut and serve with sour cream.

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