Three Back-to-School Meals: Egg and Cheese Tostadas, Pan-Fried Beef Tacos, & Sazón Beef Rice Bowl
Three Back-to-School Meals That Begin with the Same Cart
By: Kathleen Pagan | @endlesslyelated
September has a way of turning your schedule upside down before you've had time to adjust. The kids are back in school, lunches need to be packed, dinners need to happen, and breakfast can't be skipped. Enter…three back-to-school meals that begin with the same cart. Same ingredients, and an even easier grocery run.
Eggs, ground beef, corn tortillas, veggies, and Loisa products. That’s it! From this one cart, you’ll get sunny-side-up egg tostadas for breakfast, crispy pan-fried beef tacos for lunch, and a seasoned beef rice bowl for dinner. Spoiler alert: you'll just reheat the beef from lunch, cutting dinner prep time in half. Three meals that taste nothing like each other, yet all made with the same set of ingredients.
Why corn tortillas
Corn tortillas do two completely different things in these recipes, and that's the point. For breakfast, you crisp them flat in a pan, and they’ll get golden and firm to become the base the egg sits on. For lunch, you’ll fill, fold, and pan-fry each side until both faces are crispy. The one thing you have to know is that corn tortillas crack when they're cold. So, you must wrap them in a damp paper towel and microwave them for 30 to 40 seconds before folding. Skip that step and they'll split before the pan even heats up.
Season the beef once, eat it twice
The beef is the workhorse. Loisa Sazón, Adobo, and Garlic Powder lay down the savory base, and the combination of the two types of sofrito (classic and rojo) adds the depth and brightness this dish needs. Cook it all together until browned, and what you have is beef that works inside a crispy taco at lunch and just as well over a rice bowl at dinner.
Dinner is just assembly
By the time dinner comes around, the beef is already cooked and seasoned. Reheat it, cook the Loisa Rice and Black Beans, and build the bowl. Even the onions, tomatoes, and cilantro can be chopped ahead of time and refrigerated until dinner. The whole thing comes together in no time!
Three Back-to-School Meals: Egg and Cheese Tostadas, Pan-Fried Beef Tacos, & Sazón Beef Rice Bowl
4-6
15 minutes
75 minutes
Three Back-to-School Meals That Begin with the Same Cart
Ingredients
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6 soft corn tortillas
6 eggs
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
Loisa Sal Marina, to taste
Loisa Ground Black Pepper, to taste
Drizzle of Loisa Sofrito Rojo
Drizzle of Loisa Sofrito Classic
Cooking Spray
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6 corn tortillas
1 lb. ground beef
1 tsp Loisa Sazón
1 tsp Loisa Adobo
1 tsp Loisa Garlic Powder
1 tsp onion powder
2 tbsp Loisa Sofrito Classic
2 tbsp Loisa Sofrito Rojo, plus more for drizzling
1 tbsp tomato sauce
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
Cooking spray
1 small red onion, diced
1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
1 handful fresh cilantro, finely chopped
Shredded lettuce, for garnish (optional)
2 limes, sliced, for serving (optional)
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2 boxes Loisa Rice & Black Beans mix
1 lb. ground beef, seasoned and cooked — if cooking fresh, refer to the Crispy Pan-Fried Beef Tacos recipe for the full seasoning and cooking directions.
1 small red onion, diced
1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
1 handful fresh cilantro, finely chopped
Loisa Sofrito Rojo, for drizzling
Shredded lettuce, for garnish
2 limes, sliced, for serving (optional)
Directions
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Crisp the tortillas. Heat a skillet over medium heat and coat with cooking spray. Add corn tortillas flat and cook until golden and crispy on each side, about 2 minutes per side. Work in batches. Then, set aside.
Cook the eggs. Return the skillet to medium heat and coat again with cooking spray. Crack one egg in and cook sunny side up until the white is fully set but the yolk is still runny. Add a portion of shredded cheese around the edges of the egg, cover the pan, and let the cheese melt for about 1 minute.
Build the taco. Slide the egg and melted cheese onto a crispy corn tortilla. Season with Sal Marina and Ground Black Pepper.
Drizzle and serve. Drizzle with Sofrito Rojo and Sofrito Classic. Break the yolk just before eating and repeat for the remaining tacos.
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Cook the beef. In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook ground beef, breaking it up as it cooks. Add sazón, adobo, garlic powder, onion powder, sofrito classic, sofrito rojo, and tomato sauce. Stir to combine and cook until browned and cooked through, about 8–10 minutes. Drain excess fat.
Warm the tortillas. Wrap all 6 corn tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave for 30–40 seconds until pliable. Corn tortillas crack easily when cold, so working with them warm prevents this. Assemble quickly before they cool.
Assemble the tacos. Working one at a time, add a scoop of beef to one half of each warm tortilla and top with shredded cheese, red onion, grape tomatoes, and cilantro. Fold closed.
Pan-fry. Wipe out the skillet and return to medium heat. Coat with cooking spray. Add the folded tacos and press gently with a spatula. Cook until golden and crispy on the bottom, about 2–3 minutes. Spray the top, flip, and cook the other side until equally golden, 2–3 more minutes. Work in batches.
Serve. Drizzle each taco with sofrito rojo and a squeeze of fresh lime. Garnish with shredded lettuce for crunch.
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Cook the rice. Prepare Loisa Rice & Black Beans according to package directions.
Prepare the beef. If you reserved beef from the Crispy Pan-Fried Beef Tacos, reheat in a skillet over medium heat until warmed through. If cooking fresh, follow the beef seasoning and cooking directions in that recipe before continuing.
Build the bowls. Divide the rice and beans among bowls. Add beef, red onion, grape tomatoes, and shredded lettuce. Top with cilantro.
Finish and serve. Drizzle each bowl with sofrito rojo and serve with a wedge of lime.
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Three Back-to-School Meals: Egg and Cheese Tostadas, Pan-Fried Beef Tacos, & Sazón Beef Rice Bowl
4-6
15 minutes
75 minutes
Three Back-to-School Meals That Begin with the Same Cart
Ingredients
blank
6 soft corn tortillas
6 eggs
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
Loisa Sal Marina, to taste
Loisa Ground Black Pepper, to taste
Drizzle of Loisa Sofrito Rojo
Drizzle of Loisa Sofrito Classic
Cooking Spray
blank
6 corn tortillas
1 lb. ground beef
1 tsp Loisa Sazón
1 tsp Loisa Adobo
1 tsp Loisa Garlic Powder
1 tsp onion powder
2 tbsp Loisa Sofrito Classic
2 tbsp Loisa Sofrito Rojo, plus more for drizzling
1 tbsp tomato sauce
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
Cooking spray
1 small red onion, diced
1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
1 handful fresh cilantro, finely chopped
Shredded lettuce, for garnish (optional)
2 limes, sliced, for serving (optional)
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2 boxes Loisa Rice & Black Beans mix
1 lb. ground beef, seasoned and cooked — if cooking fresh, refer to the Crispy Pan-Fried Beef Tacos recipe for the full seasoning and cooking directions.
1 small red onion, diced
1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
1 handful fresh cilantro, finely chopped
Loisa Sofrito Rojo, for drizzling
Shredded lettuce, for garnish
2 limes, sliced, for serving (optional)
Directions
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Crisp the tortillas. Heat a skillet over medium heat and coat with cooking spray. Add corn tortillas flat and cook until golden and crispy on each side, about 2 minutes per side. Work in batches. Then, set aside.
Cook the eggs. Return the skillet to medium heat and coat again with cooking spray. Crack one egg in and cook sunny side up until the white is fully set but the yolk is still runny. Add a portion of shredded cheese around the edges of the egg, cover the pan, and let the cheese melt for about 1 minute.
Build the taco. Slide the egg and melted cheese onto a crispy corn tortilla. Season with Sal Marina and Ground Black Pepper.
Drizzle and serve. Drizzle with Sofrito Rojo and Sofrito Classic. Break the yolk just before eating and repeat for the remaining tacos.
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Cook the beef. In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook ground beef, breaking it up as it cooks. Add sazón, adobo, garlic powder, onion powder, sofrito classic, sofrito rojo, and tomato sauce. Stir to combine and cook until browned and cooked through, about 8–10 minutes. Drain excess fat.
Warm the tortillas. Wrap all 6 corn tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave for 30–40 seconds until pliable. Corn tortillas crack easily when cold, so working with them warm prevents this. Assemble quickly before they cool.
Assemble the tacos. Working one at a time, add a scoop of beef to one half of each warm tortilla and top with shredded cheese, red onion, grape tomatoes, and cilantro. Fold closed.
Pan-fry. Wipe out the skillet and return to medium heat. Coat with cooking spray. Add the folded tacos and press gently with a spatula. Cook until golden and crispy on the bottom, about 2–3 minutes. Spray the top, flip, and cook the other side until equally golden, 2–3 more minutes. Work in batches.
Serve. Drizzle each taco with sofrito rojo and a squeeze of fresh lime. Garnish with shredded lettuce for crunch.
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Cook the rice. Prepare Loisa Rice & Black Beans according to package directions.
Prepare the beef. If you reserved beef from the Crispy Pan-Fried Beef Tacos, reheat in a skillet over medium heat until warmed through. If cooking fresh, follow the beef seasoning and cooking directions in that recipe before continuing.
Build the bowls. Divide the rice and beans among bowls. Add beef, red onion, grape tomatoes, and shredded lettuce. Top with cilantro.
Finish and serve. Drizzle each bowl with sofrito rojo and serve with a wedge of lime.