Turkey Taco Bake — When the Table Is the Only Thing That Matters

Mid-October. We are 7-0. We won week seven thirty-one to fourteen, a workmanlike road game against a team that fought hard and was outmatched. Diego had four catches for seventy. Marcus had two TDs. Daquan had a sack. Anthony had a pass breakup. The defense gave up two scores, both long drives that ate clock, both functionally meaningless because the offense kept scoring. We came home Friday night, the boys went home with their families, and Saturday morning the program had its first off Saturday since August. No practice. No film. The staff agreed Friday night to give the boys a full forty-eight hours of recovery. The bodies need it.

My body needs it. I am forty-five and I have been on my feet at practice for three hours a day, six days a week, for nine weeks. My knees ache. My back, which usually holds up, has started to twinge. My shoulder — the one I blew out at NMSU in 1999 — clicks when I reach overhead, which it has done for twenty-five years and which I have ignored, but which has started to ache when I sleep on it wrong. Lisa told me Saturday morning that I needed to see somebody. I told her I would. I am going to. Just not yet. After the season.

Lisa's back, meanwhile, has gotten worse. She has been doing twelve-hour shifts in the ER, on her feet most of that time, and she has come home four nights this week with a back that she has been treating with a heating pad and ibuprofen. I noticed Friday morning. I asked her about it. She said, "It is fine." I said, "Lisa." She said, "Carlos." I said, "Schedule the appointment." She said, "I have one. Next Wednesday." I said, "Good." She said, "Stop hovering." I said, "I am not hovering. I am asking." She said, "You are hovering and asking. They are the same thing when you are doing them at the same time." I laughed. She laughed. The conversation moved on. But she has the appointment.

Saturday I made beef stew. Real beef stew. Chuck roast cubed and browned, onion and garlic and carrots and celery and potatoes and a little tomato paste, simmered for three hours in a Dutch oven with a glug of red wine vinegar and a tablespoon of red chile powder. Plus a quart of chicken stock for depth and a bay leaf and a sprig of rosemary because rosemary on a fall Saturday is one of the unsubsidized luxuries of life. The stew simmered all afternoon. The smell was the smell that Saturday in October is supposed to have. Lisa fell asleep on the couch in the den at three. The twins played football in the yard with the neighbor kids. Sofia was at her workout. Diego was watching the Big Ten game with his friend Trevor. The house had the kind of low afternoon hum that I do not get to enjoy often during the season. I enjoyed it.

The stew was ready at six. We ate at the kitchen table together for the first time in maybe two weeks. Just the six of us. Diego had come home from Trevor's. Sofia had come back from her run. The twins had been called in from the yard. Lisa had risen from her nap and was moving slowly because her back was not yet better. We ate. The stew was good. The bread Lisa had bought from the bakery was good. Diego said, "Dad, this is the best stew you make." I said, "I have made better." He said, "Show me." I laughed. He laughed.

Sunday I rested. I cannot remember the last Sunday I rested. I went to early Mass at seven. I came home. I made breakfast burritos for the family. I read the paper. Lisa was not on shift. She read on the couch. The twins were at a soccer game until three. Sofia was at home. Diego was watching college football. I sat in my chair and watched the Sunday-morning highlights and I did not feel the urge to go to my office. I let the day breathe. The day did breathe. The body relaxed. The tension that had been carrying me through nine weeks of football let go for about six hours, and when it came back Sunday night I felt rested.

Sunday night Lisa and I sat on the patio with hot tea — the air was cool enough now for tea, sixty degrees and dropping — and we talked about her dad. Her dad in Colorado Springs. Her dad who fell three weeks ago. Her dad who needs to move to assisted living and who is going to fight it. Lisa and Carrie are going down on November 2 — a Saturday, the bye week between regular season and playoffs — and they are going to have the conversation. I told Lisa I would come with them. She said yes. The conversation was settled. We sat in the cool air. The house was warm behind us. The road bends. Feed your people. The game is won at the table.

That stew took three hours and it was worth every one of them — but I know that most Saturday afternoons don’t give you three hours, and most weeks don’t give you an off day at all. When Lisa’s back is bad and the twins are still in the yard and dinner needs to be on the table without a Dutch oven vigil, this Turkey Taco Bake is what I go to. It has the same spirit as that stew — bold, filling, built for a full table — but it gets there in under an hour. Feed your people. The game is still won at the table.

Turkey Taco Bake

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs ground turkey
• 1 packet (1 oz) taco seasoning
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 cups shredded Mexican-blend cheese, divided
• 1 1/2 cups crushed tortilla chips, divided
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven. Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish and set aside.
2. Brown the turkey. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm olive oil. Add ground turkey and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until no longer pink, about 7–8 minutes. Drain any excess liquid.
3. Season and simmer. Stir in taco seasoning and water. Cook another 2 minutes until the liquid is mostly absorbed and the turkey is well coated.
4. Combine the filling. Remove skillet from heat. Stir in black beans, diced tomatoes with chiles, corn, sour cream, and 1 cup of the shredded cheese. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
5. Layer the bake. Spread 1 cup of crushed tortilla chips evenly across the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Spoon the turkey mixture over the chips in an even layer. Top with remaining 1 cup shredded cheese, then scatter the remaining 1/2 cup crushed chips over the top.
6. Bake. Place in the preheated oven and bake uncovered for 25–30 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbling and the edges are lightly golden.
7. Garnish and serve. Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes. Scatter sliced green onions over the top. Serve directly from the baking dish with extra sour cream, salsa, or sliced avocado on the side if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 480 | Protein: 34g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 36g | Fiber: 6g | Sodium: 820mg