Homemade Taco Salad Bowls... and Stretching Leftovers

Leftovers!  Do you love them or hate them?  Well, in our house, we love them, and that is because every day I try to turn them into something new and exciting.  I like to cook big one day, and eat for several days spinning off that one day of cooking.

I made a large pot of pinto beans earlier in the week, and that served as meal #1.

The next night for dinner, I used some of the leftover beans to make a Mexican Beefy Rice meal for dinner.  I simply fry up a bit of hamburger meat (about 1 lb), add 1 can Rotel tomatoes, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 cup rice, and 2 cups water.  Let this simmer until rice is done, then mix in the beans and season to taste with salt pepper, and taco seasoning (I make my own, but 1 package of taco seasoning mix would work).  Serve with warm buttered tortillas for a second meal.

Sorry, I don't have pictures of either the beans, or the Mexican Beefy Rice.

However, I did collect myself enough last night to take a picture of the taco salad bowls we had for dinner.  I used the rest of the leftover beans to make refried beans, and mashed them with a few dribbles of olive oil until the mixture was creamy.  I added in a bit of taco seasoning for flavor as well.  I also warmed up the leftover Mexican Beefy Rice.

Then I made the taco shells. This was the fun part!

It is better if you have large burrito-style flour tortillas (I didn't have those on hand).  So I used the flour tortillas I had which were about 6" in diameter.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

The tricky part is finding heat safe bowls to use.  I have this set of ovenware that was given to me for a wedding gift!  They have been such a blessing through the many years.  Spray your ovensafe bowls and then spray both sides of the tortilla with oil ... you could also butter them.

Bake in 375 oven for about 15-17 minutes until they are browned and crispy... instant taco bowl shells! Much cheaper than a Taco Bell salad bowl!  {smiles}|

The lighting is bad, and I apologize, but this is what the shells look like after they are browned and crispy.

Now the fun begins as you layer up the taco salad bowl with all your favorite ingredients... we started first with the refried beans, then the Beefy Rice mix, and then added whatever toppings were desired.
Ours included sliced romaine lettuce, avocado cubes,  diced tomatoes, sour cream, Pace picante sauce, and shredded cheddar cheese.  This can be determined by whatever you have on hand.

Again, I apologize for the terrible lighting for these pictures.... taking food pictures in the winter here is not an easy task! But you get the idea.  :)

For hungry bellies, using the 6" tortillas, you may need 2 per person.  It all depends how much each family member eats.  We found that the tortilla shells cooked this way were very filling, and we only needed one per person because all the ingredients were very filling.

This is just one of the ways that I  try to stretch meals and make those leftovers into a fun "game" of sorts... seeing just how far I can stretch a meal, and how creative I can get.

How do you feel about leftovers? Do they get tossed, or do you come up with creative ways to stretch them? Do share your tips!  :)

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