Better late than never, right?
I am writing this late at night in a hotel room in New York. Eating Cracker Jacks.
I left for the airport this morning before the sun had come up on a last minute trip to New York to film more episodes for my upcoming HGTV show. Well, not “mine”! But I am a very happy participant!
Normally I am absolutely down in the dumps leaving my family. However the last week was one of those weeks that had me panting on the window waiting for my cab this morning.
I had not left the house for a solid week. Oh, except for a very fast and frantic trip to the pediatrician. Oh, and another one to the laptop emergency room- more about that later.
I’m not sure how many of you out there are mom’s? But even if you are not, hopefully you will sympathize that there is nothing worse than a sick child. Or two. That were home all week, being sick, and being cranky.
Another highlight was when someone accidentally poured 16 ounces of ice water into my laptop that has not been backed up in 6 weeks.
Lets just say that my computer, may it rest in peace, did not survive that little accident. But God Bless Ethan at the Mac store, my Hard Drive did.
I think all of that nonsense calls for some comfort food. How about a taco salad?
Taco Salad, serves 6
Burrito sized Flour tortillas
Vegetable oil
Kosher salt
Braised and shredded Pork Shoulder
Toppings:
2 cans Black Beans or Pinto Beans (rinsed, drained and gently warmed)
Cotija Cheese (or you could use shredded Monterey jack or cheddar)
Shredded iceberg lettuce
Red onions
Cilantro
Sour cream
Guacamole
Salsa
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
To make the taco shells, you need an oven proof bowl. I used an 8x round pyrex baking dish- anything you can mold the tortilla inside of will work.
Lay the tortilla inside the bowl and push the center down, forming a bowl shape.
Very lightly brush the surface of the tortilla with vegetable oil and sprinkle with kosher salt.
Bake the tortillas about 10-15 minutes or until golden. Set aside to cool and repeat.
These can be made the morning of.
You will also want to start the Pork early in the day.
To Assemble:
Pile beans, pork and desired toppings high in the taco shell and eat hot!
Enjoy!
Oh yes, how I remember those days when all the kids are sick , the snow was too high to go anywhere, or school was canceled when I had something really cool to do. But what you are doing as a mom is way more important than anything else, so just soldier on during those tough days. I am excited for your show on HGTV. Yea!
Thanks Laura!
This looks incredible, Heather! Sorry to hear you have a household of sick little ones. Hope they are on the mend soon! Enjoy your time in NYC. Can’t wait to see what you’re up to with HGTV!
Thank you Marianne!
Oh poor Heather! My heart is with u, I know exactly how u feel I’ve had my 4 girls sick at the same time and even once 3 of them had chicken pox!!! But it will get better trust me and a couple days away will do u good and u’ll be fresh and able to tackle it all again. God bless you and yours. By the way that looks great!
Sick children are the worst thing ever. Rips your heart out and then your brains. It takes nerves of steel to be a parent! This taco salad looks delicious. I always wondered how to make a shell without frying it. Have a great time in NY.
I love mexican food, but I never thought of making my own taco shell bowls! How fun!
This looks delicious. Congrats on your media coverage. Very exciting!
Love, love, love the idea of baking the tortilla bowl. I will definitely be doing this.
What a great idea for baking the bowl! Glad I found this on twitter, pinning for later.
I honestly don’t know which is worse – two sick children or a terminal laptop! But this taco salad would go a long way towards curing those ills – as would a trip to New York! Hope you had a fabulous break!
Hope the little ones have recovered, the laptop incident is a thing of distant memory and NY will get you back up and running – have a cocktail and live it up pretending to be young free and single in the big apple, even if it’s only for a few days.
thanks Lucy 🙂
Enjoy NYC, Heather, and have fun filming out there!
Sounds like a hectic week! What a great meal to make when times are crazy. 🙂
That’s a bummer that your were munching Cracker Jacks while writing this post. This taco salad looks great + I look forward to watching you on TV!
What a different take on the classic taco salad! Looks delicious! Can’t wait to see you on HGTV!
your week sounds like a doozey. understand why you are happily eating a box of cracker jacks in a quiet hotel room. someone else will be making YOUR bed this week and cleaning YOUR bathroom!! Yipee. Sorry about the laptop. Regardless these baked taco shells are genius! Cannot wait to put them to the test.
Congrats on NYC! I love that city! And I hear you with the sick kiddos – there’s nothing worse, especially when you’re trying to get work done. The taco salad looks great! I’m going to add it to next week’s menu. Thanks!
That is such a beautiful tortilla and is so simple.
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