Ring of Fire - Taco Ring

“I fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down and the flames went hirer
And it burns, burns, burns, the ring of fire
The ring of fire”

Why does my husband sing this song every time I make the Taco Ring? I have no idea. Your guess is as good as mine. I know it is one of his favorite meals that I make {might have to do with the fact when I first started making it we were newlyweds and he was finally being fed real meals again since he didn't live in that dump of a house in college}. Back then he would see that I was making it and get so excited about this meal that he would dance around the kitchen singing Ring of Fire. {I'm sure he would be very happy to hear me tell this to everyone}
Now it is also one of my kids favorite meals as well! And of course, they all sing the ring of fire when I make it.
That was waaayyy back in 1999 when I started making the Taco Ring {wow that dates me}. I honestly can't remember if I found the recipe in a cookbook I received for our wedding {you know, one of the ones your grandma gives you from her church – still one of my most cherished cookbooks} or if I got it from going to a Pampered Chef party?
Lately, I’ve had to increase the amount I make since the kids are older now and The Boy {at only age 9 mind you} seems to be eating more than me these days!

It is a super easy meal. 

What you’ll need:
1.5 lbs Ground Beef {I use the extra lean stuff} *before when my kids didn't eat as much I used 1 lb
2 tubes of crescent rolls {I use the low fat ones} *again, when my kids didn’t eat as much I used 1 tube
1 package taco seasoning – *this didn’t change
Approximately ¼ cup water
1 bag shredded cheese {I usually use whatever kind I have in the fridge, but Cheddar or Monetary Jack work the best – I put in a couple big handfuls, not really sure on the measurement here – depends on how much cheese your family likes}
Toppings:
Whatever your little heart desires! We like lettuce, black olives, tomatoes, sour cream, salsa, taco sauce.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. In a large pan, brown the hamburger. Drain off the fat. Then add the packet of taco seasoning to the ground beef. Add about ¼ cup of water to this mixture. Mix it all together.  If you think you need a little more water you can add more. You do not want it runny though, just enough water to blend the seasoning mix with the hamburger. Once that is all mixed together, turn the burner off and add a couple handfuls of cheese {remember you can add as little or as much as you're family likes}. Mix well. 

Set this aside while you prepare the crescent rolls.
To prepare the crescent rolls, get a large cookie sheet or baking stone. Place the crescent rolls in the shape of a sun – with the wide ends of the triangle overlapping the next and the points facing out. {Ohhhh.Kayyyy. This is really hard for me to explain. So here, just look at the picture}

Then press down on the center of the crescent rolls to flatten them out a little and mush {technical cooking term} them together so you have more room for the meat mixture.
Next spoon the meat mixture on the crescent rolls.
Then take the outer point of the triangle and fold it up over the meat mixture. Tuck it in under the inner part of the crescent roll.

Now you have your ring! Yipee!
Bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
Slice and serve with your favorite toppings! 

Yummy!

Warning: Side Note Experimental Recipe!

We had leftover steak that I didn’t want to just throw away {cause it was heaven on a plate}. So I decided to make a mini Taco Ring with the steak! Genius, I know!
I took the steak and ground it up in my food processor.

Added a little bit of taco seasoning & water and warmed it up in a small pan. I added some cheese

and placed it over the crescent rolls. 

   

Isn’t it cute?

This baked for almost the same amount of time as the larger one. I did take it out of the oven about 3 minutes earlier, though.
It turned out soooooo good. I just love me some good steak! And put that good steak in a Taco Ring? PER.FECT.TION!

We served it with a side of corn that we sauteed {I'm not quite sure how to get the little apostrophe over the first e and I'm pretty sure there is another name for it than apostrophe but you know what I mean} with butter and ground cumin in the pan we made browned the hamburger so there was still some taco seasoning in it.

Over the years, I have heard some different variations of the Taco Ring. Some make it in a 9x9 baking dish and add Doritos or some add refried beans to the ring. So what about you, have you tried a Taco Ring before or a variation of it? And if you have, does your husband sing his praises to you?

~Amy

P.S.

The Hunger Games movies was A!MAZ!ING! LOVED IT! It didn't have a couple of the parts from the book that I was hoping for, but none-the-less it was awesome!