Hidden Veggie Chipotle Taco Meat

Brown ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, mince the vegetables (food processor is really nice for this). When the beef is almost cooked through, add the minced pepper and zucchini. Cook for 3-4 more minutes until some of the liquid cooks out and the beef is cooked through.

Add dried minced onion, tomato sauce, chipotle powder, diced green chiles, salt, pepper, beans, corn, and 1/2 cup water. Cook another 4-5 minutes until about half of the liquid has cooked out and mixture is nice and saucy. Stir in cilantro and keep warm until ready to serve.

Notes:
1. You can substitute 1 Tablespoon of chili powder for chipotle powder if you don’t have it or worry about it being too spicy.
2. You can substitute any number of vegetables for the bell pepper and zucchini, as long as they’re minced very small. I used what I had on hand. Cauliflower, yellow squash, fresh spinach, grated carrots, cabbage, or even broccoli would work nicely. You would need about 2 cups of minced vegetables, total.
3. Frozen peas would sub well for the frozen corn.

Serving suggestions (basically, you can do what you would do with regular taco meat):

Taco Salads: Place a handful of lettuce in a bowl, top with taco meat, chopped tomatoes, a few corn chips, sour cream, and cotija (or feta) crumbles.

Nachos: Put a few handfuls of corn chips on a rimmed baking sheet and top with about half of the taco meat. Top with shredded cheese (ohh, pepper jack would be good) and bake at 400 degrees F for 10-12 minutes. Serve with sour cream, guacamole, and other nacho toppings.

Quesadillas: Put a few spoonfuls of taco meat on one side of a tortilla. Top with a few sprinkles of shredded cheese, then fold in half. Cook in a skillet over medium heat until cheese is melted and tortilla is browned and crisp.

Burritos/Tacos: Place some taco meat, cheese, and whatever else you like in a large (or small) tortilla. Roll and serve

Southwest Baked Potatoes: Spoon some taco meat into a baked potato that’s been cut open. Top with cheese and/or sour cream.

You could also serve the taco meat over rice or over a warm piece of cornbread.