The halftime dinner the rest of the team stares at
Individual bags of Fritos or Doritos, the ones that come twelve to a box. Squeeze the bag until the chips break up, cut the top open wide, and spoon in beef, cheese, and lettuce.
The bag is the bowl. There is no plate to balance, no dish to bring home, and a kid eats it standing up next to a fence with a plastic fork.
The beef travels in a preheated half-pint jar and the cold toppings travel in cups on ice, which keeps the meat properly hot and the sour cream properly cold until they meet.
Ingredients
The batch makes 4 kits. Plan on about 20 minutes.
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 packet (1 oz) taco seasoning
- 4 single-serving bags (1 oz each) corn chips, such as Fritos
- 1 cup shredded cheddar
- 1 cup shredded lettuce
- 1/2 cup diced tomato
- 1/2 cup sour cream, optional
How to Make It
- Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat until no pink remains, about 7 minutes. Drain the fat.
- Stir in the taco seasoning and 1/4 cup water and simmer until thickened, about 3 minutes. Cool, then chill.
- Pack the cooled seasoned beef into a lidded container.
- Pack the cheese, lettuce, tomato, and sour cream in separate small containers.
- Keep the chip bags whole; at the field, open a bag and spoon the toppings right in to eat with a fork.
Pack It Cold and Tidy
The beef, cheese, and sour cream are perishable, so the topping containers ride cold even though the chips do not.
- Set the beef and topping containers against two ice packs in an insulated bag
- Keep cold food at 40F or below, and do not leave it out longer than 2 hours
- Keep the chip bags out of the cooler so they stay dry and crisp
What Stays Crisp (and What Gets Soggy)
The whole point of a walking taco is crunch, so toppings stay separate until you build it.
- Pack each topping in its own container so nothing wilts before game time
- Open the chip bag only when you are ready to eat
- Keep the lettuce and tomato dry so they stay crisp, not slippery
- Serve with: a lime wedge, a clementine
Parent Tip
Cool the beef fully before packing so it chills fast and does not steam up the container.
Make it fit tonight
Small changes that make this one fit your night
Ground turkey in the jar
Leaner, and the seasoning packet does all the same work either way.
Sunday's leftover chili
A thicker filling that turns the bag into something closer to a real meal.
Seasoned black beans
Two cans, drained and cooked with the taco seasoning, feed six kids for four dollars.
Corn and diced tomato cups
They bulk out the toppings and add color a kid actually reaches for.
Nacho cheese in a tiny jar
Warm cheese poured over the top makes this feel like the concession stand.
Plan the next step
Plan the sideline nights
Use the planner to mark the games where a build-your-own kit beats a sit-down dinner.