“I’ll be honest, dinner can be chaotic at our house, and sometimes it is unplanned and random,” shared Garland Tsarouchas. “As the COO of a company, and a mom of three busy kids, it can be challenging to meal plan for the week, be prepared for family dinner, and get everyone in the same place at the same time!”
Garland and her husband, John, met in college at Northwestern University. Garland played softball there, earning several awards, and then continued on to play professional softball. John played football for Northwestern and went on to use his talents to coach high school football. Together they have three children – Wimberly (8), Thomas (5), and JoJo (2).
“Our family is a big sports family! As a result, we stay busy driving our kids to and from sporting events and practices all around the Eastern Shore,” Garland said. “When we aren’t actively involved in sports ourselves, we are watching them. The fall is full of Northwestern Wildcats and Chicago Bears football games, and in the spring we’re always trying to watch as much college softball as we can.”
Garland has coupled her passion for sports with a career she loves. As the COO of RCX Sports, she travels often and maintains a demanding schedule. RCX Sports works with professional sports leagues, like the NFL, MLB, MLS, NBA, and NHL, along with premier brands, to help make youth sports accessible, affordable, and fun for all kids.
“My husband and I share the cooking duties, and we try to get everyone together when we can to sit down and talk about our days,” Garland said. “Regardless, I love having easy meals I can throw together to make sure everyone gets a dinner they like, and use the opportunity to get everyone eating at the table together.”
Garland, John, and their kids relocated from Chicago to the Eastern Shore three years ago to be closer to her parents, who were born and raised in Mobile County. In fact, Garland’s grandmother, Wimberly Hory (author of her own cookbook ‘Wimberly Cooks’), and her mom, Ellen Hory Cooper, had a popular catering business in Mobile many years ago. Being brought up in the kitchen, enjoying family recipes, and trying new things are some of Garland’s fondest childhood memories.
“This Taco Pie recipe is one my mom would make for me when I was young,” said Garland. “This recipe is in the cookbook of our family favorites my parents created for us, and it makes a frequent appearance at our dinner table – especially since it is Wimberly’s favorite!”
Taco Pie
Ingredients:
- 1 deep dish or 2 regular pie crust shells
- 1 pound ground beef
- ¾ cup chopped onion
- 1 package taco seasoning
- 1 can of refried beans
- 1 jar (8 oz.) taco sauce
- 1 cup shredded cheddar or Mexican-style cheese
- Toppings: shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, sour cream
Directions:
- Preheat oven and baking sheet to 400.
- Partially bake pie crust for 10 minutes and let cool.
- Reduce oven temperature to 350.
- In a large skillet, brown the ground beef and onion; drain fat. Stir in taco seasoning mix.
- In a small bowl, combine refried beans and ½ cup taco sauce.
- For deep dish crust, layer one-half of the seasoned meat mixture in the bottom of the pie crust and top with one-half the refried beans – repeat layers
- For regular crust, layer one-half of the seasoned meat mixture in the bottom of the pie crust and top with one-half the refried beans for each pie crust.
- Sprinkle cheese on top and bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes.
- Add your toppings and taco sauce.
*Note: I like to make this with two regular pie shells. We’ll eat one, and freeze the other. If you make it to freeze, do all the steps, but don’t bake in the oven. Sprinkle the cheese on top and wrap tightly with plastic wrap and foil.
Author: Gabriele Jones
Gabriele has been married to her husband Daniel for 16 years. Together they have three incredible children - two boys, ages 15 and eight, and a sweet girl who joined the family last summer. She is a full time Pink Cadillac Sales Director for Mary Kay Cosmetics. When she isn’t spending time with family or building her business, she supports her husband who is the Lead Pastor and Planter of Forward Church in Foley.
