Salsa Beef and Bean Lettuce Cups

I went to bed the other night all prepared to make delicious little calzones for the family’s dinner the next evening. The next day, the temperature outside was roughly that of the surface of the sun. And humid.

Now I don’t know about you, but when it feels like a giant sauna outside, I am not much disposed to baking. (That was a giant euphemism for you couldn’t PAY me to heat up the oven.)

The moral of the story is don’t menu plan.

Actually, the moral of the story is to be flexible. I took the ‘guts’ of the doomed calzones and turned it around into something quick and not at all oven-y.

I fried up some bacon, added it to some browned ground beef then stirred in a can of our favourite chili beans and a fistful of chopped cilantro. Thanks to great sale on produce at our local-ish grocery, we were well stocked on lettuce.

The result was a smoky, saucy, beefy, bacony, beany concoction that somehow managed to be filling without being heavy. We served it in crispy lettuce cups, topped it with grated cheese, velvety ripe avocado cubes and some spicy salsa, sat on the porch and let what little breeze there was cool us all down. Three cheers for switching it up!

The no-vegetable contingent had the toppings (meat and cheese, thankyouverymuch) over brown rice while the rest of us happily munched our lettuce cups. We ended up liking the dish so much we made it two nights in a row. Then two nights later, we made it again. Thank heavens for bursts of inspiration!

Are you looking for more delicious and economical ground beef recipes? Try out our Ground Beef Fried Rice a.k.a. Cheeseburger Fried Rice as well as our 15 Minute Korean Style Beef and Cheater Sesame Beef.

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Rebecca Lindamood

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Crisp, fresh lettuce cups with a smoky, saucy, beef, bean and bacon filling are topped with lime-kissed ripe avocado cubes, shredded Cheddar cheese and a generous dollop of your favourite salsa for the ultimate hot-weather dinner. Easy enough for busy evenings but pretty enough to serve to company, you’ll be sure to add this to your regular meal rotation!

Ingredients

  

For the Beef Filling:

• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1/2 of a pound of sliced bacon
• 1/2 an onion peeled and finely diced
• 1 clove garlic peeled and minced or pressed
• 1 can 15.5 ounces, approximately chili beans in sauce
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro or parsley

To Serve:

• Butter or Iceberg lettuce leaves
• shredded extra sharp Cheddar cheese
• cubes of ripe avocado with lime juice squeezed over them
• salsa

Instructions

 

To Prepare the Filling:

• Stack the bacon slices and cut cross-ways into 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick strips. Fry those over medium heat in a 12-inch, heavy-bottomed skillet or frying pan until crispy. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Pour the remaining bacon fat from the pan and return the pan to medium heat.
• Break up the ground beef into the hot pan and add the chopped onions and garlic. Use a wooden spoon to continue breaking the beef and working the onions and garlic into it as it cooks. When the beef is no longer pink in the center, drain off any fat (if there is any!) and return the pan to the heat. Add the can of beans with their sauce, stir well and bring up to a simmer. You can simmer it to thicken the sauce if necessary.
• Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cilantro.

To Serve:

• Stack the lettuce leaves 2 to 3 thick to provide a little structure for when you lift it to eat it. Scoop about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the beef filling in the center of the lettuce cup. Top with the shredded cheese, cubes of avocado and a dollop of salsa.

Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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