- Taco meat, 1 lb. I use the little pre-made chubbies from the grocery store or gas station.
- Chorizo, 1 package. I use the really greasy soft stuff that comes in a chubby and has all the structural integrity of an overripe banana.
- Assorted peppers – I use a couple of serrano and a jalapeno or two. I’ve also gad good luck with Anaheim, poblano, and habanero.
- Rice, 4 cups (prepared – 1 cup rice, 2 2/3 cups water)
- 1 can of corn
- 1 can of diced tomatoes with green chilies (Ro-Tel or similar; I used the store brand. You can also upgrade this to the tomatoes with chipotle or habanero peppers if you like the heat)
- 1 can of black beans
- 1 cup shredded Colby jack cheese
- Sour cream
- Salsa (I use a mix of store brand chunky medium and guacamole, with a squirt of Sriracha)
This one isn’t terribly complicated, but it uses three pans; it’ll generate some extra dishes. It also makes four solid servings. You may want to make smaller servings, but I eat a good-sized lunch because my breakfast is so lightweight and I have a half hour for lunch.
Chop up your onions and peppers, and fry them in a little bit of oil until they get soft. Add the taco meat and chorizo to the peppers and fry until hot.
While that’s going on, rinse the black beans until they’re good and clean and drain most of the juice from the tomatoes and corn and cook them together until hot. Make your rice as usual.
Split everything into quarters and combine. If you’re eating it immediately, use a plate or bowl. If you’re doing a meal for later, use an appropriate container. I use a rectangular container, put a quarter pound of meat on one end, a cup of rice on the other, and throw the bean and tomato mixture in the end. Add sour cream and cheese to taste, add your salsa, and you’re good to go. If I’m eating this at work, it takes a couple of minutes in the microwave to heat up.
The grocery store where I do most of my shopping makes pre-cooked, pre-seasoned taco meat. It isn’t bad, if a little bland so as not to offend their target audience. It’s also cheaper than plain hamburger. I usually use it to make burritos or a bowl like this, while my wife prefers nachos.
Why Torgo Bowls, since nobody asked? There’s this truly terrible movie called “Manos the Hands of Fate.” It’s famous because it was on MST3K back in the good old days, and it is an attempted movie that must be beheld to truly grasp its awfulness – it was made on a bet by the director just to prove any idiot could make a movie, so he rounded up his local community theater troupe. One of the main characters was named Torgo, and he’s pretty much the best (for certain values of “best”) part of the movie because he’s just so gorram weird. I don’t know when I started doing this, but somewhere along the line I started calling tacos “Torgos” So we have Torgo Tuesday. And now Torgo Bowls.