Every family has staple dinners that you regularly had growing up in the rotation. Our staple dinners in rotation ranged from enchilada casserole, Frito boats, or Frito pies depending on where you grow up, to burgers, chicken and Caesar salad, tri-tip and corn, and potato soup to name a few. But nothing was more “Rossiter” than Tacos. Growing up in Tulare – we always had to clarify that it was Okie Tacos – not traditional Mexican tacos or even Americanized tacos. This fully embraces our redneck way of tacos. They might sound crazy, but they are comforting and delicious. And always best eaten with large gatherings of family and friends!

Today – I will walk you through their construction and I hope this entices many of you to join us for our Taco Dinner and Silent Auction on March 16th, 2024 (BTW- have you RSVP’d – https://forms.gle/1KdyhqTbJtF9hjtB6)

First Step – The Tortilla is key. There are different opinions about the best taco vehicle – corn or flour tortillas. There’s a lot to consider – different texture, size and capacity. I personally land in the camp of Flour first – and corn later (I actually like the corn tacos the next day as leftovers. Hard to explain, but facts.)

Second Step. We take some hamburger meat and smash it in to half of the tortilla. These will now get fried…carefully frying and cooking the meat side and folding the tortilla into the taco shape during the frying process. The splatter situation is serious – so in our house you kept a paper bag from the grocery store to protect yourself!

Next – build the taco. And here’s where family members are going to get mad at me – because we all build them differently. I’m going to preface that this is just how I roll. But first, the players – the rest of the taco toppings include:

• Ranch Beans warmed up in sauce pan
• Cheddar Cheese – strong preference here: Tillamook always people! Don’t skimp on the Tillamook and shred your own cheese, it just tasted better.
• Campbell’s Condensed Tomato Soup – it’s the soup can, but nothing else added to thin it down. Warm and Savory Tomato Sauce. Just trust the process.
• Grandma’s Simple Salad – Chopped Ice Berg lettuce with tomatoes and green onions – mixed with mayo, salt, and pepper. It’s easy, simple, and delicious.
• Salsa or Pico – Totally Optional

Now, here is how I build my taco:

1. Take your taco, add a little dash of cheese.
2. Scoop of Ranch beans.
3. Little more cheese.
4. Tomato Sauce.
5. Depending on how I feel – salad on top or salad on the side!

Every member of my family will tell you a different pattern of building the taco, but the truth is that first bite with all these savory flavors will taste amazing now matter the order! YUM!!!

And side note for the vegetarians in the house – save some tortillas to build a bean and cheese burrito! Gluten Free – corn tortillas can be a great option, but they also make some great GF flour tortilla alternatives too.