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Cheesy Taco Taters!

  
 

We love potatoes around here, but it seems like we get stuck making them the same old way all of the time.  There's baked, fried, twice baked, mashed, or french fried...au gratin or scalloped.  This is a good way to kick potatoes up a notch.  These are really good with hamburgers, hot dogs or barbeque. Also kids, especially teens really love them. 

 Here is what you will need:

5-6  baking potatoes, peeled and cut in medium size chunks
1/3 cup oil (olive or vegetable)
1 pkg. taco mix
sprinkle of seasoned salt
sprinkle of black pepper
2 cups Monterrey Jack and Cheddar blend cheese, shredded


Place potatoes in a gallon size Ziploc bag with oil and taco mix.  Seal and shake until they are all well coated. 



Spray a 9"x13" dish (or any dish big enough to spread them out in) with nonstick cooking spray and spread the potatoes out in it.  Sprinkle with a little seasoned salt and black pepper.  Place in a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes.  At 20 minutes stir them around to turn and get all sides browned.  Sprinkle with the cheese about 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time.  


Cheesy Taco Taters!





74 comments:

  1. are the baking potatoes suppose to be prebaked or boiled before cutting and spreading?

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    1. since they are in the oven for 40 mins, no, they are not

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    2. MIne always cook in this amount of time without precooking at all. At 400 degrees they will cook fine.

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  2. No, you don't cook the potatoes before hand. The 40 minutes in the oven will do it.

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  3. I'm soo trying to cook healthier.wonder do u need that much olive oil and cheese or would they be good with less anyone tried

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    1. Olive Oil is very healthy. It is considered an essential oil. So you would still be cooking healthy with it!

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    2. Olive Oil is good for you, and makes food tasty. you can also use fat free cheese (which i did in my Gratin potatoes), or use a cheese with less fat.

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    3. Instead of using the taco seasoning and cheese try dry onion soup mix instead. It is incredible.

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    4. To manage the amount of salt, instead of using a store-bought taco seasoning packet, make your own taco mix. It's much cheaper in the long run and you can control how much salt you add to the mix. To replace one packet of store bought taco seasoning, use: 2 teaspoons chili powder, 2 teaspoons dried oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper and 1/4 teaspoon cumin. Mix together. :-)

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  4. I going put some hamburger meat in my so, I can make it one meal..

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    1. How did it turn out with the meat??

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    2. Boil the hamburger first. I always do with my hamburger. It tastes much better and less grease.

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    3. What do you mean by "boil" the hamburger? You actually drop it into boiling water? Doesn't dry it out?

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    4. No it doesn't dry out.

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    5. I saw on a show on TV where a cook (i think) browned her hamburger to a just done stage (not crisp), then add warm water, maybe a cup for 2 lb or so, was added to the skillet to heat this for another 3 or so minutes. Then the water is poured off (with the fat) and the hamburger is returned to the stove to be finished browning to the desired texture. The person doing this said you could cut down a good percentage of fat (a third or fourth or so) just by doing this. You don't want to add so much water that you wash away your beef flavor. I use just a little beef base sometimes for more flavor but unless you drown it, it should taste fine.

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    6. Cooking your burger as you usually would and then rinsing with hot water works just as well and you keep flavor!

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    7. Or, you could a very lean (97/3) ground beef or lean ground turkey. With the taco seasoning you won't even notice that it's turkey and not beef.

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    8. That water from rinsing the beef is great over dog food, my dog tells me. :)

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    9. when i brown hamburger, i put the meat in the skillet (2.5lbs) and break it up. then i spray it with water from the sink. just enough to wet it all (guessing about a cup). then i turn eye on high and keep stirring/breaking it up. the water helps it all cook evenly, lets me cook it faster without burning (on high heat). once it's all gray, i drain, rinse, drain and return to eye for desired brownedness.

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    10. Thanks Anonymous; why didn't I think of that!! I usually wind up with my meat maybe overcooked, maybe sticking to the skillet. Your method sounds like it would avoid all problems.

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  5. Can you add cooked hamburger to this and make it a meal?

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  6. You can just skip the cheese altogether and they are still good. For this many potatoes, you need the oil or they will be dry and stick. If you use Canola or Olive oil, they are both healthier choices. This is not a lot of oil for this many potatoes.

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  7. What baking potatoes do you recommend?

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  8. OMG!! That looks so good!! Yummy! I will most definitely try this

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  9. This is great. I will be adding ground deer meat to my first effort.

    I made the Smothered Chicken the other night and my husband had 2 pieces. That doesn't happened that often. I was thrilled.

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  10. I think adding ground beef or venison, if you prefer would be great. I would just add the taco seasoning to the meat with some water like you would for tacos. I make something similar sometimes.

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  11. Any type of baking potatoes will be fine to use. Russet or Idaho are usually good for this type of thing.

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  12. Charlee, so glad your husband liked the 'Smothered Chicken'. It's a big hit with the guys around here also.

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  13. For diabetics, you might want to use red or golden potatoes. Colored potatoes have less carbohydrates. Keep the skins on, too. All extras like cheese and sour cream can be Lite to cut down on the fat and you won't notice a difference in taste.

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    Replies
    1. Lisa thanks for the potato hint.

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    2. For a quicky I used tater tots and baked for 20 minutes. This was a hit at a bar-b-q we were asked to at the last minute...

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    3. AnonymousJune 6, 2013 at 10:44 PM

      Yeah I guess if you can stomach tater tots. They are nothing like potatoes .

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    4. Hooray for tater tots at the last minute! They are made of potatoes so Suzan your snooty comment is a tad....stupid.

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  14. Cheese and potatoes!???!! You are speaking my language! :-)

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  15. can you use tator tots?

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  16. When you add ground meat to the potatoes, do you add them at the beginning to cook the full 40 minutes, or do you add it towards the end of the cooking time?

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  17. If I was going to use ground beef for more of a complete meal, I would brown it and add some taco seasoning to it with 1/2 cup water. I would add the meat about half way through.

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  18. Sounds great! Think I'm going to throw an onion in there to, we can't eat without an onion ;)

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  19. Looks really delious! Going to try this real soon. The smoothered chicken sounds good with it. Going to try & find this recipe. Thanks for publishing Cheesey Toco Taters.

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  20. add some hot peppers and sour cream and with the meat it is a full meal!!

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  21. I've been trying to contact you to see if you have a swiss steak recipe but to no avail. Maybe you will see this here and answer. Thanks. I love your blog!

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  22. Darlene, I do have a Swiss steak recipe and I made it and the pictures were terrible so I have to do it again. I will try to do that in the next week or so.

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  23. Has any one tried this using Tater Tots? I bet that would be wonderful.

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  24. KATHY..YOU ARE AMAZING!!! YOUR MAKING ME FAT LOOKING AT ALL THESE DELICIOUS RECIPES!! Theresa..Your cousin..Love ya!!

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  25. Could u use sweet potatoes??

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  26. Easy and delish...thanks for posts, I relly enjoy them.

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  27. I cooked this for The family they loved it ecspiecally The husband couldn't stop eating it thankyou for The recipe I am gonna use so much other recipes now :-)

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  28. I bet it would be good with bacon too!

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  29. I bet it would be good with bacon and onion!

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  30. To "degrease" hamburger meat: brown and scramble as usual..place in colander with a pan under it to drain..when well drained, place colander in sink an wash meat VERY well with really hot water..let drain again..viola! almost grease-less hamburger meat. I use this method when preparing home-made soup, and there is NEVER any grease build up on top after refrigerating leftovers.

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  31. Someone asked about using tater tots. If I did that I would add little to no oil because they usually already have plenty in them.

    Plus, I love the other idea of putting a nice amount of red sweet peppers, onion with possibly other veggies to make it a bit healthier.

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  32. I would never boil ground beef. You can saute it in a skillet without oil. Sprinkle salt, preferably kosher in a hot cast iron skillet, not a heck of a lot just about 1/2 tsp. Add the ground beef and saute, the salt renders the fat from the beef, pour the rendered oil off the cooked ground beef. Proceed in your recipe.

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  33. I decreased the oil, using 1 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp water. Worked just fine.

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  34. I like this with cajun seasoning instead of taco seasoning and add some Eckridge sausage. yummy

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  35. I alwayw boil my hamburger meat for tacos spagjetti etc....makes it flyffier ame all the grease goes to top of water.my family knoww when it isnt

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  36. I confess I haven't read all the replies, so please forgive me if this question has already been asked. Has anyone used prepackaged hashbrowns (not shredded but the chunky ones) or tater tots?

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  37. Oh wow! You took the best of two worlds and gave birth to pure deliciousness!! You are a goddess of the kitchen!

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  38. Where can i get the recipe for the smothered Chicken

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    1. http://sweetteaandcornbread.blogspot.com/2012/11/smothered-chicken.html

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  39. I wonder if you could use tata tots shake them up with the taco seasoning mix, cook in oven, then add the rest of the ingrdients bake till cheese melts

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    1. I don't see why not. I do have a recipe on here using Tater Tots, ground beef and taco seasoning.

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  40. Looks like i will be trying

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  41. This is the first I've heard about boiling ground beef. Doesn't it lose the flavor??

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  42. This looks & sounds simply delicious!! By adding some HB meat along with some onion & peppers . . . Yum, what a great meal & my family would love it!

    I also have 'never' heard of boiling ground beef, but, if it has been done & came out great, then, good idea! I just found it to be very different! I have always done nothing except brown it in a frying pan or pot ~

    I will DEF be making this for a meal very soon!!
    Thanx for Sharing!! :)

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  43. Yes you can boil ground beef. Crumble into enough salted boiling water to cover meat. Cook meat just until the pink is gone. When done drain meat and give a brief rinse of water. Use as you would any browned ground beef. It won't be quite as tasty as browned meat because it is the fat that gives it the taste we all love. When combined with other ingredients it will be hard to tell the difference though.

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  44. I am still smiling about boiling hamburger meat. I have never heard of that!!!

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  45. Thanks for the recipe! I fixed these and they are yummy another good recipe added to my collection to incorporate into my menu plans.

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  46. I boiled a couple chkn breasts for about 10 mins and diced it up and added it to the potatoes, red n green bell peppers tossed in seasoning and baked for 40 mins. Turned out AMAZING!!

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  47. I think I will try this but with tator tots and I am going to add chicken and call it a meal. ooo I am so hungry now!

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  48. Im the worlds worst when it comes to taking the days meal out of the freezer in time for it to thaw by time im gonna cook. Ive been boiling frozen hamburger for about 25yrs now.Its handy for a gazzillion last min receipes. this removes almost all the grease,cooks up quickly,and NOBODY has ever said anything about the taste or texture being off.

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  49. I used chi chis restaurant season. I also diced onion and one jalapeno pepper in mine

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