Taco "Muffins"

Yum, yum, yum. This is one of the best recipes I have ever tried and my family has declared it a definite keeper!

A few weeks ago, I saw a recipe for Taco Cupcakes from Emily Bites on Pinterest (by the way she has a lot of other "cupcake" recipes that you should check out as well!) Quite often I pin a recipe and then forget about it, but I could not get this one out of my mind!

I made some changes to the recipe and since one of my friends has dubbed me the muffin lady (have you tried my Green Monster Muffins yet??), I have renamed my version "Taco Muffins."

Taco Muffins

Ingredients:

*24 wonton wrappers

1 lb. ground beef or turkey (or double the beans for a *meat free version)

1 small onion chopped (approximately 1 cup)

1 ½  cups black beans

1 cup chopped zucchini

1-2 T homemade taco seasoning (I leave out the crushed red pepper and use only 1 t. of cumin)

salsa

shredded cheese- cheddar or Mexican

prepared guacamole or avocado slices

*You could also sub chopped mushrooms for the meat.

Preheat oven to 375°.

Cook the ground beef and onions in a large skillet. When beef is nearly cooked through, add the black beans,  and chopped zucchini. Continue to cook until beef is no longer pink and zucchini has softened. Remove meat and bean mixture from the heat. Tilt the pan and push the meat and veggie mixture to the side to create a small pool of cooking liquid, if none remains, add about 1/2 cup of water. Then add 1-2 T of taco seasoning (depending on how much flavor or "spice" you want.) Stir the seasoning into the liquid to create a sauce and then combine the sauce with the meat and veggie mixture.

Spray the muffin tins with olive oil (I use and love the Misto Gourmet Olive Oil Sprayer.)  Then press one wonton wrapper into the bottom of each tin to form a little “cup.”

Spoon a generous tablespoon of the meat and bean mixture into the wonton “cup.” Add a spoonful of salsa and a sprinkling of cheese. Then layer a second wonton on top of the mixture and repeat the layering of meat and beans, salsa and cheese. *You may be able to make more than 12 “muffins.” I had some beef bean mixture remaining… keep reading to see how I decided to use it J

Bake for about 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and the tips of the wonton are brown. Top with guacamole or avocado slices.

I had some of the beef and bean mixture left over so I decided to create some "Make Your Own," taco muffin kits for my kids. I've had a great deal of success with make your own salad muffin tins and make your taco salad muffin tins, so I had a feeling that this would be a hit. 

Though my kids liked the "ready made" taco muffins, they said that they actually preferred the make your own versions. This did not surprise me. My kids always tend to prefer what they have made on their own. I think that the other advantage was that the shell was crispier. (To make the shells, I simply sprayed the muffin tin with olive oil, pressed a wrapper into the cup, sprayed the top with a bit more oil and baked for 5-10 minutes- watch them carefully, I burned the first batch!)