Sent as “gift” recipe - please let me know if that didn’t work!
I like to stretch out our ground meat for tacos with sauteed onions. This adds all of flavor, moisture, and volume:
Saute diced onions until soft. Stir in the ground meat and cook through. Add 1-2 T. taco seasonings (to taste), stir to coat, and then add about 1/4 cup of water. Cook until the sauce is mostly evaporated. Voila - you’re ready to fill your tacos.
1 Like
And I agree, but TOFU is a 100% hard NO from Sunshine. I’ve tried to serve it to her 3 ways to Sunday and its always been rejected.
I’ve had OK luck with using ground turkey as a ground beef substitute, so when I use up this haul – I’ll have to go back to ground turkey.
2 Likes
Don’t mention that it is tofu you’re using. I swear, there are those who can suss it out anyway. Maybe that is a type of refined palate.
Some people shudder at the mere mention of tofu, but this stuff bears no resemble to tofu in taste, texture or appearance - honest! I’m a skeptical omnivore, and it was amazingly good.
P.S. You mention going back to turkey when you run out of beef - I sometimes use 50/50, especially in meatballs and other highly seasoned dishes.
4 Likes
This is a great idea Thanks!!
1 Like
I add black beans too to bulk up my taco filling! Makes the meat go further.
5 Likes
Cooked (diced) potatoes and/or rice are also both tasty options.
3 Likes
fwd. to Desert Dan..
Same here! Any bean or lentil, really.
1 Like
I just checked all of the preview sale circulars for this week. The only thing that I could possibly use is cream cheese – maybe pierogies??
I’ll be leaning on the freezer and pantry this week. Maybe I’ll find something on clearance?? (fingers crossed).
1 Like
Cheesecake! Cream cheese is also very useful as a component in Mac and cheese, creamy pasta sauces, casseroles, baked dips, quiches, etc., in addition to being a great spread for toast, bagels, crackers, etc. on its own or mixed with seasonings. Also makes a good pastry crust.
2 Likes
I had a friend a few years ago that used cream cheese to make fettucine alfredo.
1 Like
Back on the old AOL food boards in the 90s when someone said they made an “authentic” fettuccine Alfredo with cream cheese, the instantaneous uproar over authentic vs. non-authentic was mind-numbingly long. 
6 Likes
Cream cheese in everything…mashed potatoes, potatoes au gratin or scalloped potatoes, cheese cake and cream cheese desserts (freeze the cheesecakes you make!), chesecake-y pie fillings, cream cheese in appetizer dips and molds, cream cheese pastries and cookies ( just in time for the holidays), cream cheese frosting, stuffed celery with cream cheese, the list goes on…I’ve had success with freezing blocks of cream cheese.
2 Likes
When said friend told me about her cream cheese fettucine alfredo I told an Italian co-worker what she did and he said “That is NOT fettucine alfredo”. Even the look on his face showed how mortified he was 
1 Like
Yes, as long as its heated or cooked, then it becomes creamy, again.
I tried it (frozen then thawed) and the texture was grainy. I’ll keep one in the fridge and Sunshine can put it on toast, etc.; I’ll freeze the other 2 (Special is 3 for $5) and come up with something for them.
Yup. I mean sure - I’ll use some cream cheese in a creamy sauce for pasta. But I won’t call it Alfredo sauce. LOL I was definitely on the "Nope!’ group - BUT I also remember saying “If that’s the way the person wants to make it; that’s OK for them.” But I also noted it wasn’t authentic. The argument went on WAY past that, tho. And heaven forbid when someone new found the thread and started it back up again. 
1 Like
Do you like pumpkin flavor? This pumpkin basque cheesecake would be inexpensive (esp if you can score some discounted canned pumpkin after the holidays) and uses a pound of ccheese. Of course you could also make half a recipe.
As long as it’s not opened, cream cheese keeps a LONG time in the fridge. Well past its Best By date, in my experience.
4 Likes
