This is the most wonderful time of the year! It's also the busiest time of the year!

I know you are busy. I'm busy. My kids and my husband are busy and I know yours are too. There are school programs and church programs, Christmas parties and other seasonal activities to attend.

Stopping at the drive-through is a real temptation.

But too much of that is not healthy, and it's hard on the wallet!

This meal tastes just like your favorite fast-food taco place. But it's homemade, so you know what's in it, and it's fresh! These tacos are fast and easy. And what makes them "fast-food" fantastic is the meat and the taco shells.

There's a little trick to cooking the meat so that it's really fine ...you put an 8 oz can of tomato sauce in with the 1 lb of raw hamburger before it starts to cook! I know, sounds weird.

1 lb raw lean hamburger mixed with 8 oz tomato sauce Cook over Medium heat until cooked through (about 10 min)

But what this accomplishes is the meat absorbs all the tomato sauce and breaks down into little bitty pieces....very, very similar to fast food tacos. You want to be sure to purchase lean ground beef because it's very difficult to remove the grease. After it's all cooked thoroughly, I add my taco seasonings and then let it simmer for about 15 minute while I get the rest of my ingredients ready. Don't add any extra water or other liquid with your taco seasonings.

Taco meat cooked, seasoned and ready to eat!

My kids are crazy about the shells that I started making. I saw this somewhere online...but I can't remember where... and have been doing it ever since.

It works really well with either flour or corn. My family is partial to flour tortilla shells so that's what I use for them; I like corn, so I use a couple of those for me :)

Heat oven to 350. Lightly spray both sides of tortillas with cooking spray. When oven is heated, use tongs and position tortillas over rack in oven as shown. (Make sure that you have first separated the two oven racks so that you have room to work without getting burnt).

Lay lightly greased tortilla shells over racks in oven. They will cook for just a few minutes and form a "crispy" shell.

It only takes about 5 minutes for them to lightly brown. If you are using corn tortillas, they will take about twice as long. Remove them from oven with tongs and lay them somewhere to cool. They will harden further as they cool. The really neat thing is they now have a nice flat bottom, perfect for holding all your taco fillings! They're crispy, but not so crisp that they break apart with the first bite like the ones you buy. They are more chewy/crispy. We love them!

Ready to fill!

I think I enjoy tacos as much as my kids...they are so yummy :) Fill them up with your meat, cheese and other ingredients and enjoy!