Hold Onto Your Leftover Potato Skins For Taco Tuesday

One of the best things about tacos is that you can stuff them with whatever fresh ingredients you want. The possibilities are endless! Whether it's heaps of fresh veggies, spicy chorizo, or savory pieces of fish, there's always a tasty combination for every taco lover to enjoy. Maybe you've scoped out the best taco restaurant in your area and have become a regular customer, or perhaps you prefer to make them every week at home for Taco Tuesday. It doesn't matter if your tacos are basic or dressed to the nines with delicious authenticity, the best Taco Tuesday recipes evolve over time as you discover what tastes best to you.

A great budget-friendly option for your next Taco Tuesday spread is tacos de pobre, also known as tacos de papa or tacos de hombre pobre (poor man's tacos). Perfect for vegetarians and those who observe Lent, tacos de pobre don't feature any type of meat. Instead, this traditional Mexican dish uses mashed potatoes seasoned with cumin as the main filling, topped with whatever ingredients you want. You'll find that many potato taco recipes call for different toppings, so you have a lot of variety to choose from when it comes to flavor. Potatoes are a versatile food, and if you're a fan of the crispy texture of potato skins, don't throw them out. These easy-to-make tacos are exactly the meal you can use them for.

So you've set aside your mountain of potato skins, now what? According to Mexican chef and TV host Margarita Carillo Arronte, they only require a bit of preparation before going into your tacos de pobre (via Epicurious). She explains her process in "The Mexican Vegetarian Cookbook." Simply fry the skins in a thin layer of oil until they're golden brown, which will give you that satisfying crunch when you take your first taco bite. Toss in some diced onions and chili peppers to give the potato skins some extra zing, and once the onions have fully cooked, it's taco time. Place the mixture in a corn tortilla and pair it with your favorite homemade salsa.

Arronte creates this version of tacos de pobre with just potato skins instead of mashed potatoes, but you can use both. And be careful not to overfill your tacos, or those precious taters might just fall out. If you're searching for the best traditional taco recipes to use for your potato tacos, try this one from Chicano Eats. He associates these tacos with many wholesome memories of his food-loving family from Colima, Mexico, so you know it's the real deal. The recipe features "a deep fried tortilla shell stuffed with a mashed potato filling" alongside "shredded cabbage, sliced tomato, diced onion, heaps of cotija and a garlicky tomato sauce." If your mouth is watering at that description, so is ours. Taco Tuesday, here we come.