Taco Cupcakes

Pretty sure it’s been scientifically proven that tacos are the cure-all for every emotion.

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 (1 oz.) packet taco seasoning
• ⅔ cup water
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 36 wonton wrappers
• Favorite taco toppings: salsa, sour cream, etc

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Brown and crumble ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain grease. Stir in taco seasoning, water and black beans. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until water is absorbed.
2. Spray 18 regular muffin cups with cooking spray. Place one wonton wrapper in each muffin cup. Divide half of the meat mixture between muffin cups. Sprinkle half of the cheese over the meat. Repeat layer with another wonton wrapper, taco meat and cheese.
3. Bake for 15 - 18 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and wrappers are golden brown. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
4. Serve with your favorite taco toppings!

Easy Jalapeno Popper Bites

Crispy chip, creamy cheese and the zip of jalapeno will bring you right back to life.

Ingredients

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened (light cream cheese is okay)
• 3 to 4 green onions, thinly sliced
• 2 jalapenos, seeded and diced (use less or more depending on preference)
• 8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 8 oz pepper jack cheese, shredded
• 4 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 48 tortilla scoops chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together cream cheese, green onions, jalapenos, bacon, pepper jack and sharp cheddar cheese.
4. Spoon a rounded teaspoon of the filling into scoop chips
5. Top with additional bacon and cheese if desired.
6. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until filling is bubbly and cheese is melted.
7. Serve immediately.

Hunt’s Touchdown Mini Meatloaf

While your mom’s meatloaf will always hold a special place in your heart, give this one a try. Also, the fact the meatloaf is designed as a mini football makes it that much more festive.

Ingredients

• PAM Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
• 2 pounds ground beef (85% lean)
• 2 cans (8 oz each) Hunt’s Tomato Sauce - No Salt Added
• ½ cup Egg Beaters Original
• 1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
• 1 envelope (1 oz each) dry onion soup mix
• ½ cup Hunt’s Tomato Ketchup
• 1 stick (1 oz each) part-skim mozzarella string cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Line shallow baking pan with aluminum foil; spray foil with cooking spray.
2. Mix beef, tomato sauce, Egg Beaters, oats and soup mix in large bowl until well blended. Shape into 8 oval-shaped meatloaves, about 5x3 inches; place in prepared pan. Spread ketchup evenly over the tops of meatloaves.
3. Bake 25 minutes or until meatloaves are cooked through (160F). Cut cheese stick into thin strips. Cut strips into 8 long pieces and 32 short pieces. Place 1 long piece and 4 short pieces on each meatloaf to resemble ‘laces’ on a football.

Mini Football Brownie Pies

  Another miniature appetizer - but hey, there’s something about miniature food that makes it taste better, right?

Ingredients

• 1 package refrigerated pie crusts, pack of two
• 1 brownie mix, plus ingredients to make the brownies
• Vanilla frosting, homemade or store-bought

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Unroll one pie crust and use a 2½” round cookie cutter to cut circles of dough, re-rolling as needed. Spray mini muffin tins with cooking spray (I like to use the kind with four in it) and press one round in each cavity. Repeat with second crust in box. You will get about 36. Chill until ready to fil.
2. Prepare brownie mix according to the package directions. Remove crusts from refrigerator and fill each cavity with 1 tablespoon brownie batter. (You’ll have some leftover. You can bake the letover as cupcakes or in a loaf pan and use for brownie pops or just eat it with a fork).
3. Bake pies for about 15 minutes, until the crust in browned. Let them cool completely before frosting.
4. Once cooled, a gentle urging from a butter knife will help the pies pop out of the muffin pans. Place your vanilla frosting in a sandwich baggie and cut off a teeny tiny bit of the tip. Pipe laces onto you pies and enjoy!

Loaded Nacho Fries

We are finally verging away from the miniature food - but for good reason. This nacho recipe has a base layer of crispy french fries, so basically this will rock your World.

Ingredients

• 1 lb bag frozen fries
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 bell peppers, chopped
• Taco seasoning packet
• Small can jalapenos, drained, optional
• 1½ cups cheddar cheese
• Tomatoes, diced
• Green onions, diced

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Lay frozen fries on baking sheet and cook until crispy.
3. While fries are cooking, brown ground beef.
4. Drain fat.
5. Add diced onion and peppers, cook until browned.
6. Add taco seasoning and water, mix according to package directions.
7. Remove fries from the oven when just under crispy. Layer taco mixture over ries.
8. Sprinkle with cheese and jalapenos.
9. Return to oen, cook until cheese is melted.
10. Top with tomatoes and green onions, serve.