This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of McCormick & Company for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: The best dinners are 1) Easy to make, 2) Affordable, 3) Delicious, and 4) Relatively healthy. If you can find a recipe that fits at least three of those criteria, file it away in your recipe box (or your bookmarks folder on your computer), because it’s a keeper.
Tonight, I found a four-star recipe – that is, a recipe that’s simple, cheap, tasty AND good for you – and I found it thanks to McCormick.
Rather than just throw a bunch of recipes up on their website, the folks at McCormick did their homework. To help home cooks find wholesome dinner ideas during busy back-to-school schedules, McCormick used Google data to identify the top 10 most-searched dinner recipe terms during the fall of 2012 and matched them with simple and flavorful McCormick recipes.
The four-star recipe I prepared tonight was Taco Casserole. It’s a fresh take on one of the top 10 most searched family dinners: Ground beef. The ingredients are simple: ground beef, pinto beans, corn, tomato sauce, tortilla chips, cheese and McCormick taco seasoning.
After the beef is cooked and the ingredients are combined for a few minutes in a pan, it’s time for the casserole dish.
For my preparation of the recipe, I doubled the beans and corn and added a little extra taco seasoning. The addition helped to expand the recipe (for just an extra dollar or two) and added some much-needed extra veggies to my daughter and husband’s plates!
After five or 10 minutes in the oven, the Taco Casserole is ready for the plate! I served mine with a side of tortilla chips, which can be used to scoop up the yummy casserole.
Feel free to check out the Instagram video below of my adventures with McCormick’s Taco Casserole. Also below is a photo of a McCormick gift set. The assortment of spices is part of McCormick’s “Homemade in America” comment contest, and one commenter from THIS BLOG ENTRY will win this assortment of secret kitchen weapons. To enter, all you have to do is answer the question below. Good luck!
What is your favorite McCormick spice?
I love fast and easy! I think my my favorite is their sloppy joe seasoning. I have been called “the best sloppy joe maker” and all I use is their season packet 🙂
My favorite has to be ground cinnamon—for cookies, French Toast, and apple pie!
Cloves are my favorite spice. So many uses in a wide variety of dishes.
I have quite a few McCormick seasonings. We love their taco seasoning but I also use a lot of their Basil, Oregano and Garlic Powder.
This is actually a really tough question. I want to say cinnamon, but I probably use ground mustard more- it’s awesome in salad dressings and on all eats!
Thanks!
My favorite spice from McCormick is the roasted garlic & herb, I love it on chicken & hamburgers!
I love McCormick spices! I keep meaning to try that slow cooker packet. Can’t say we have just one favorite, but the McCormick Grill Mates Molasses Bacon Seasoning is definitely a frontrunner.
I love their spices! Ground cinnamon is my favorite!
That sounds yummy! My family would love that. Thanks for the idea!
We use a lot of these seasonings but I haven’t seen the slow cooker packets. I’d love to try those!
I like the California Style Lemon Pepper with Garlic & Onion because I like the tang of the Lemon and my hubby won’t eat anything if it doesn’t have a pinch of Pepper.
I love the seasoning, I use it for my Tacos in a bag in when we go camping.
Your taco casserole looks fantastic! I haven’t seen the Asian spice mix in my stores yet, but I am intrigued. I will have to look for it the next time I go shopping.
I love McCormick’s Lemon Pepper.
My Hubs and my Daughter both love the taste of tacos. This Taco Casserole looks perfect for those nights when I am to busy to be in the kitchen all day. thanks for the recipe.
This looks delicious. McCormick is one of the main seasoning we buy in our household. Well mainly because it’s really the only one that our commissary sells. 🙂 I do like their seasoning though and I have to say that it does make your food taste better. Going to have to give your recipe a try. Thanks for sharing.
My favorite spice is garlic power. There aren’t many meals that I cook that do not have this seasoning in it. I am paying more attention to my salt intake so this adds the touch of flavor and aroma that I love in my meals.
Wonderful photos and great suggestions on how to spice up a typical recipe. Thanks.
oh my goodness this looks so easy and delicious I can’t wait to try it.
I love all the McCormick seasonings. It is the only brand I buy. My favorite is the Taco Seasoning. Thanks for the recipe…do you think it freezes well? I like to quadruple a recipe and then freeze it.
Love the blog, I’m going to go look around. 🙂
Wow! That looks delicious! It’s making me hungry just to look at it!
thanks for the recipe. fast and easy
I love McCormick’s lemon pepper. I use it all the time
That looks yummy and easy to replicate. Thank you for sharing!
Yum! I also love fast, easy, affordable and delicious meals. This recipe sounds yummy. My favorite McCormick spice is the slow cooker packs. Those are so handy to have and really make my life easier.
This looks like a very easy weeknight meal that all will love. I have to go pick these items up!
I love the garlic powder! Running out of garlic in my house is a major emergency! haha. I would love to try those slow cooker packets too!
my favorite McCormick spice is oregano. We use it – A LOT! and I love this recipe. I need things to be super duper easy and this fits the bill. Plus, I can substitute the “meat” for vegan ground beef and it’ll be vegetarian! Thanks.
Great recipe! I love McCormick spices. Garlic powder and paprika are big favorites of mine when I cook.
My husband’s favorite food is Tacos so I am going to have to make this for him. It looks so yummy!
I love their spices. Great recipe!! I love having it with chips. Great for football games!
I love easy recipes because time is of the essence in my household. Quick and easy is what I am always looking for so this recipe fits right in. I can’t wait to try it.
Wow, this looks amazing. I think my picky family eaters may actually like it. Thanks for sharing.
Wow, something new! That looks delish!
Mitch
I love all of them, but I think my favorite is just plain pepper!
This is so scrumptious looking. I want to make this right away. Oh my goodness! This looks like something I can add to my recipes for a regular meal in my house – it has some of everything we like and takes away some of what we don’t need. Looks like even my gluten-free baby can have it!
I like having McCormick Oregano leaves, Black pepper and Garlic powder in my cabinet at all times. They are like, my go-to spices. My favorite would have to be Garlic powder.
Wow, that looks delicious. I never thought to put beans with our nachos, but this casserole looks like my boys and I would scarf down. We use the McCormick Burrito seasoning for any of our Mexican meals. =)
That looks gooooood. Wow. The perfect pinch Asian sounds amazing – I can never get those tastes right on my own!
My favorite McCormick spice is the Asian spice. I use it all the time.
my son is not a big fan of taco shells so on Taco Tuesdays I make him this =) he LOVES it!!
Yum! This would be a huge hit with my husband, and it looks so quick and simple, too! Thanks for sharing! Adding it to my recipes right now!
I also love simple and easy recipes. I use the McCormick slow cooker seasonings all the time they are my very favorite. I am going to have to try this recipe it looks tasty!
Oh, I can see my next Sunday Funday meal 🙂
Oh wow! I have these packets but never thought of doing anything like this! Looks great!
Looks easy and yummy. Definitely my kind of meal. I think that I even have all of these ingredients at home already.
I love their italian seasoning
We love garlic powder and use it on everything!
YUM! We love anything taco like!
My favorite McCormick spice is cumin seed. Its so versatile and can be used on lots of things.
My favorite spice is curry powder.
All of them, but I seen to season everything with a bit of taco seasoning and then others as well.
The country herb chicken and dumplings is awesome for crockpot recipe
I love their spices. We use taco seasoning, cinnamon and lemon pepper often.
My favorite is the garlic powder.