Product Review and Giveaway: Old El Paso Taco Dinner

** THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED **

Growing up primarily in Southern California, taco night was  on the weekly/bi-weekly calendar for Mom's menu planner! Now Mom went all out- shredded beef or pork, homemade Spanish rice, enchiladas or tostados, flour AND corn shells, and plenty of items to put on everything!  Old El Paso was always around for the refried beans, chilies (if she did chilie relenos, and for seasoning mixes, if she hadn't made her own.

Did you know the Old El Paso line up of products includes chilies, dinner kits, dips and sides, enchilada sauce, refried beans, seasoning mixes, shells, taco sauce and salsa. The Old El Paso taco seasoning mix selection includes flavors like Burrito, Cheesy Taco, Chili, Fajita, Taco, Mild Taco and even a seasoning with 40% less sodium?

So when My BlogSpark asked if I would like to host a family taco dinner night, I was quite happy to agree!

For a fun twist on taco dinner night, be sure to try one of the delicious recipes below.

I was sent the Old El Paso taco seasoning mix, a gift card and 2 adorable chip and salsa/sauce/dip containers.

We don't use hamburger for our tacos- we prefer shredded beef, chicken or pork. So to shake things up some, I bought some beef stew meat and then cut up in small fajita style sizes to use instead. Kitchen tip- if the beef is partially FROZEN it is ALOT easier to cut in smaller pieces. Then let finish thawing out to cook (or quick partial defrost in microwave). I followed the directions on the taco seasoning, just substituted the beef for hamburger! I had a little over 1 pound of meat, but could probably have done 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 easily, there was plenty enough seasoning mix.

I also decided we hadn't had any Velveeta Cheese Dip in a while and as I had been sent some Tostitos Scoops from Frito Lay (as part of their Welcome Aboard Package), it was great timing! I also bought a Old El Paso Cheesy Rice Mix. With flour tortillas made into tacos, I knew that would be enough to feed four adults and one 3 yr old!
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As always, I added extra to the cheesy rice mix. About 10 minutes into the cooking, I added some freeze dried creole seasoning mix we have-which is really just green peppers, onions, red bell peppers and garlic. Then 5 minutes before finishing, I added a handful of shredded colby jack/cheddar. You would REALLY be surprised how this little change can make the rice taste totally different and homemade!

As you can see, we used the adorable containers for the chips and dip. They were just the right size for us. Not on the Velveeta Dip- I added a scoop of sour cream after it had been melted together in the microwave. This tones down the Rotel just a tad and gives it a little smoother texture.

For those of you who don't mind keeping your family laughing at the dinner table, have some fun with El Tacodor, the world’s only family taco night game. With El Tacodor, your family can challenge one another to quick fire trivia, wordplay and pantomime. You can download instructions, a score card, and a challenge sheet for even more fun on family taco night, at the website!

AND  you can visit the Old El Paso website and download a printable coupon for $0.60 off any two Old El Paso products today!

And now, one of you can enter here to win an Old El Paso prize pack which includes a packet of Old El Paso Taco Seasoning, a Cactus Chip and Dip Serving dish, a set of 3 Fiesta Chili Pepper serving dishes and a $10 gift card to purchase your taco fixings!

The Giveaway

One Winner will win the Old El Paso prize pack mentioned above !!

ENTRIES:

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and confirm address, if no contact, then new winner will be picked in their place. 

 
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Contest will end on October 27th, at midnight. Winner will be picked by Random Number (random.org) on October 28th, and emailed. As soon as winner's info is received, I will email their info to My Blogspark, and they will send the gift to the winner!

Disclosure / Disclaimer:  I received these items, free of charge, via My Blogspark, for review purposes. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about them.