Chef Boyardee {Taco-Roni} and More Inspired Recipes!

Chef Boyardee was something I grew up eating and somehow forgot about.  Now though that my boys are a little older (3 and 5) I have found that I can share my love for Chef Boyardee with them.  I am not talking though of just opening a can and microwaving it and serving it up, but there are so many ways to incorporate Chef Boyardee into recipes!  So what better way to serve up a new Chef Boyardee recipe than to invite some neighbors over with their kids and have dinner!  With kids from 3 – 11 plus us adults, we all thought the Taco-Roni Recipe was the best one (and the one I had all the ingredients on hand for already.)

Here is the recipe I used:

Taco-Roni {Chef Boyardee}

INGREDIANTS:

• 2 (15 ounce) cans Chef Boyardee Beefaroni
• 1 (14 ½ ounce) can Hunt’s® Diced Tomatoes , drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can Rosarita Premium Whole Black Beans , drained, rinsed
• 1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ cup shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend
• ½ cup broken yellow tortilla chips

DIRECTIONS:

• Place beefaroni, drained tomatoes, beans, corn and cumin in large saucepan; stir to combine.
• Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and broken chips just before serving.

My 3-year old, Gavin, did pretty much all the mixing and preparing while the other kids played and us adults chit-chatted.  While we have all had Chef-Boyardee before none of us had really thought of adding ingredients to them.  So basically instead of a can for lunch, now after adding some more ingredients for substance it can be a dinner!  I will admit the Taco-Roni was awesome!  Even my husband who is picky and was skeptical over using “Beefaroni” thought it tasted awesome!  The other parents copied down the recipe to take with them, and I had to promise to borrow them the kid’s chef hat and apron!

Mixing it up (what it looks like under the taco chips and cheese):

Yes, I even used Whole Grain Beefaroni and you couldn’t even tell the difference!

Even Olivia got to be Chef!

Some recipe suggestions:

Here is the finished creation topped with taco chips and cheese!

For recipe ideas visit Chef Boyardee to get inspired!

Mom and More Disclosure:  I wrote this review while participating in a In Home Party campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Chef Boyardee and received product samples to facilitate my party and review, and a promotional item to thank me for participating.