Yes, I'll admit it right off the bat.
My kids sometimes watch iCarly. Which, if you haven't heard of this show, is where the idea for these tacos came from. Carly's older brother, Spencer, came up with the idea, apparently.
Anyway, Alex and Julia had been requesting spaghetti tacos for some time, and so I finally made some.
Only, I didn't just make regular spaghetti and meatballs and put them in taco shells.
No, ma'am. (Or sir.)
I cooked up a pound of spaghetti, and rather than tossing that with spaghetti sauce, I took a 28 oz can of tomato puree and the "taco sauce" packet from a box of the Ortega hard and soft shell taco dinner kit thingy and mixed them together. I added a little salt and pepper and cumin and coriander and that was it for that component.
I made turkey meatballs - a pound of ground turkey, salt and pepper, cumin, coriander, and garlic powder to taste (I just sprinkled some into the bowl.) - all mixed together and shaped into darling little meatballs, smaller in circumference than a quarter. I browned them and then took the "taco seasoning" packet from my taco dinner kit, added that to a cup of water and finished cooking the meatballs in that. I may have added a bit more water. Use your judgement.
I made some guacamole, and we had shredded monterey jack cheese and salsa on hand as well.
Once the meatballs were cooked through, it was time to assemble the tacos. I prefer the hard taco shells - I like the flavor and the crunch.
So here we go:
First, I had to tell Alex to move his arm out of the way.
He likes to do that when I'm trying to take pictures. I could publish a whole book of food photos blocked by Alex's arm. But I digress.
I put some spaghetti in the bottom of the taco shell, and then sprinkled some cheese on top.
Next, three meatballs in each shell. I like to put the cheese in between warm components so it melts. But that's just me.
Next, some salsa. This is one of our favorites - Mrs. Renfro's Jalapeno Salsa. It's hot and delicious. The kids leave this off.
And then some gauacamole. Mmmmm. Is there anything yummier than freshly made guac? I think not.
And here they are. Two of MY version of Spaghetti Tacos. The kids loved them, though Julia prefers hers on the soft taco shells rather than the hard ones.
Oh, and if you reeeeeeeeeeeeally want yours cheesy, you can add a half a slice of meunster to each and microwave for a few seconds. I might have done that. Possibly.
And that's my little story of the spaghetti tacos.
