I'm on a roll....!

If your kids/husband are anything like mine, they don't like chunks of anything - and casseroles/hotdishes are not their favorite, becuase it crosses too many food "borders" ("I don't like it when there is STUFF on my green beans, I like my green beans SEPARATE!). (big sigh.....) OK -- next time I make tator tot hot dish it's going to be SEPARATE piles of burger, tator tots and green beans. Not exactly a HOT DISH???

Ok - this is week 2 of trying to get more veggies (the important vitamin rich veggies) into my kids (oh yeah, that definately includes Dirk... he is the peas and corn kind of veggie-guy). I've tried many of the Deceptivly Delicious recipes, and LOVE her concepts. I thought I could probably start developing some recipes of my own... This one has been taste tested twice by my family, with no hints of anything being out of the ordinary... so I know it's a total success.

This whole system works great for my kids becuase they don't detect anything out of the ordinary... no chuncks, no mysterious lumps, etc. So here goes... I'm going to call this one: Taco's Plus

1 1/2 pounds ground meat (I use venison a lot 1/2 and 1/2 with beef, all beef or even turkey would
work fine)
Brown meat in the frying pan with 1/2 tsp. salt.

Meanwhile put the following into a blender:]
1 small onion, coarsly chopped
1 garlic clove, cut in half
1/4 of a sweet red bell pepper, cut into large chunks
1/3 to 1/2 cup of red cabbage (raw) coarsly chopped
1 stalk celery, coarsly chopped
1/4 cup cooked beet slices (I use the canned version)
2/3 cup water
2 packages taco seasoning mix (or 1/2 cup if you buy it bulk)
Blend on high until all veggies are blended into an "applesauce" consistency. Don't worry if you can still see a few small chucnks of cabbage or red pepper -- as it cooks with the burger, the veggies will completely disappear.

Add veggie-seasoning mix to the browned burger and continue cooking until the sauce simmers and is mostly absorbed by the meat. Taste for balance of salt, spice, etc. If it is a little too spicy for your family, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup ketchup. If you like more spice... please, add red pepper flakes, tobasco... whatever.

Serve with your favorite taco or nacho fixin'... From my "guess-timation" in every 1/2 cup serving: 1/3 cup will be meat and 3 Tbs. will be veggie (close to a 1/2 serving of veg. for adults). Plus -- my family really doesn't like beets, red cabbage or red pepper... but all three of these are PACKED with great vitamines they just don't get any other way. (the more color in the veg the higher the vitamin content).