Everyone loves Taco Time but serving them is often messy. Hard taco shells break easily, and the several bowls of lettuce, cheese, meat, sour cream, sauce, and other ingredients take a lot of preparation and messy, clean up. What if Taco Time was in just one intact serving? 

This easy and one pot, dish is perfect for camping and feeding hungry hunters, fishermen, and outdoor adventurers. This recipe can be made ahead of time and just needs to be baked for less than an hour over fireplace coals, in a deep Dutch Ove.

Use a big even Dutch oven that fits a Bundy Pan. I have also made this baked dish using aluminum foil, over fire coals. You just need to be careful not to tear the foil. I placed the foil covered taco filled Bundt pan on a grate. More hot coals were shoveled gently on top of my double foil wrapped pan. Make multiple portions for a big camp. 

Sides can include salsa for a dipping sauce and sour cream as your topping. You can cut the taco up as you would a cake. It will stay intact when you eat it. 

This recipe involves easily transportable ingredients. (Serves 6-8 hungry campers)

• 10 soft tortillas
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced.
• 1 red/green pepper diced. Add a diced Jalapeno if you like.
• 1 juiced lime
• Nonstick spray or Crisco
• Taco seasoning, 1 pkt.
• 1 lb. of ground beef
• 2 cups of Taco chips, crushed. Flavored chips add more flavor, especially the lime ones. 
• Salsa, for the dipping sauce
• 1 ½ cups Mexican shredded cheese blend

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Add onion and peppers. Caramelize. About 10 minutes. Now add the ground beef, taco seasoning, and lime juice. Cook together and set aside until needed. 

Use a cutting board to slice the tortillas into 4 equal pieces. Two of the slices will have a rounded edge. The two middle sections will be rectangular. 

Spray or grease the Bundt pan. Begin laying the middle, rectangular strips into the pan. One end will be at the venter of the pan, the other end will hang over the outer edge.

Now sprinkle half of the cheese onto the bottom of the Bundt pan, over the tortillas. Next spread a third of the ground beef mixture over the cheese. 

Now use the round edged tortillas to cover a third of the remaining meat mixture. Lay the round edge to match the round contour of the pan. It will take 4-6 rounded edged tortillas. 

Repeat the cheese, meat, and rounded tortillas layers. Now add the crushed taco chips. This will build 3 layers. 

Place the remaining tortillas on top and fold any overlapped tortillas toward the middle. This will seal the Tortilla cake. 

Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. I cover the open end of the cake with foil. It will fit into a deep Dutch oven. If the lid will not seal, use more foil and allow the Dutch oven lid to sit atop the Bundt cake. Add fire coals below the Dutch oven and shovel some onto the lid. Everything is already cooked so you are just heating the cake and melting the cheese. 

Cool for 15-20 minutes before serving. 

Slice and serve the Taco Cake into wedges. These can be dipped into salsa and coated with sour cream. Taco sauce can also be used when eating. The tortillas will be pliable and not crack apart when eating. The crushed taco chips will add a crunchy texture.

This meal can be built ahead of time and stored in a cooler or fridge until ready to cook. 

There will be no leftovers. This recipe will be Muy Bien!

Montana Grant