Make them extra cheesy: There’s a Mexican restaurant where I live that makes the BEST tacos. And, after eating there many, many times, I found their secret. They use two tortillas and melt cheese in between them. When I do this, I heat a bit of oil in the skillet over medium heat, then add the tortillas and cheese once the oil is heated. Heat each side of the tortilla for about 30 to 45 seconds. If you heat the tortillas in the microwave, you can skip heating them in the microwave.

Choose a great side: Crowd pleasing sides for these ground beef tacos I’ve used are Caesar salads, Mexican rice, refried beans and Mexican street corn.

Cook the meat in advance: If you want to save time assembling these tacos, you can cook the ground beef ahead of time – then store it in the refrigerator and reheat it before assembling the tacos. The meat will stay good in the refrigerator for up to one week and can be frozen for up to one year.

Drain the excess fat: This is a more controversial topic than I ever realized. But a few people have told me they don’t drain the excess fat once they brown the ground beef. I don’t know how common this is, as I was always taught to drain the excess fat. But I’ve been told the grease adds more flavor. In my opinion, if you brown the ground beef well, it won’t dry out and you won’t need excess grease to add more flavor. So, I recommend draining the excess fat.

Timing is everything: The key to this recipe is timing: make sure your tortillas are heated in the microwave or skillet at the right time, so they are still warm when you serve the tacos. Depending on how many tacos you’re making, the timing of heating the tortillas will change. Assuming I’m making 10 or fewer tacos, I heat the tortillas right after browning the ground beef. And I make sure all the ingredients I’m adding to the tacos are ready to go by this time.