Years ago, I discovered a recipe on a ready made pie crust box and I knew right away my family would love it. Since then, that recipe has been made more times than I can count and has evolved into a heartier and more textural feast than the original version ever was. The original recipe has been missing for a long time but I never make it the same way twice anyway. Taco pie is truly a fool proof dish and always a big hit. My adult children look back on that dish fondly and have carried on the tradition by making it for their own families.

Because I don't follow an actual recipe any given time I make Taco Pie, I will just start with a base and give you some possible ideas to use for additional optional.

Ingredients 

1 lb ground beef

1 two count package of refrigerated pie crust (rolled dough)

1 taco seasoning packet (or 2 teaspoons cumin, 2 teaspoons chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon garlic, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder)

1 cup shredded cheese (Colby, Cheddar, Colby Jack, Monterey Jack, or other favorite)

1 small can green chilis

1 small can or 1/2 cup verde sauce

Instructions

• Heat oven according to pie crust directions. 
• Remove pie crust from refrigerator and from box it is in. 
• While pie crust is warming up to room temperature, brown ground beef. Once beef is cooked, drain any excess juices off and return to heat. Add taco seasoning and follow directions on the packet as though you were making tacos ( Or, add two teaspoons cumin, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, and a 1/2 teaspoon onion powder + 1/4 cup of water). Simmer until all of the water is cooked off and all that remains is a thick sauce that has blended into the beef. 

• Add green chilis and verde sauce. Cook a few minutes more and turn off and removed from heat. Let meat set for 5 minutes.
• Add cheese and stir until it is all blending in. 
• Press bottom crust into pie pan. Make sure sides of dough reach the top of the pie pan.
• Add meat mixture and cover with second crust pressing the sides into the bottom crust around the outside edge. Press with fingers or fork or both. 

• Cut a few slits into crust to remove steam as pie cooks. 
• Bake pie according to box directions.
• Watch pie to make sure the edges of the crust don't over cook. At the halfway point, add a foil sheild around pie the protect the crust from burning while the rest of the pie continues to cook. It's a pain but it works. 

• Once the pie is cooked and out of the oven, it is best to wait ten or even 15 minutes to avoid having taco pie hash. It's hard to wait and I don't blame you if you don't.

• Notes: As a family favorite, I have made a double batch of this in a rectangular cake pan. You will need another box of crust to do this & yes you have to get a little creative with it to make it fit but it is possible. See my silly diagram below if you are not sure how to go about it (I hope it makes sense). I have also made it in a round and oblong casserole dish. 

• Optional additions:  Finely chopped onions, (sauté the onions just before or cook them ground beef), corn (corn is a really great texture (I usually use about a cup of frozen and toss it in after the meat has browned and the season mix has been added), a can of black, pinto, kidney, etc... be sure to rinse them to remove the starch before adding them to your mixture), a can of diced tomatoes, fresh jalapeños finely diced. Extra verde sauce, Adobo seasoning, hot sauce, mild sauce, green peppers, red peppers, chipotle peppers...... as you can see there's a long long list of possible additiions. I have used all of these additions and probably more. You may want to add another 1/4 to 1/2 cup of cheese if you choose to use any or all these options. Yes we have thrown them all in. We have five kids. We were experts at stretching meals. By contrast, it was much more challenging to go back to cooking for two.  
• Toppings: Sour cream, Guacamole, Salsa, Side salad with Thousand Island dressing. Whatever you enjoy on your tacos will be great for taco pie. 

Have an army to feed?  Here's my "MacGyver" guide for reshaping a store bought pie crust. 

Pans I have used instead of a pie pan.

About the crust

The crust for this recipe could obviously be made from scratch if you had the ambition to do so. I know making crust really isn't all that hard but I prefer the path of least resistance to cooking dinner. That said, a homemade crust would be great for a larger pie so you could shape it any way you wanted.