Easy Tacos
The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook Copyright 1999
12 taco shells
1 pound ground chuck I used lean ground beef
2 to 3 teaspoons Chili Seasoning Blend*
¾ cup water
¾ cup finely chopped onion
3 cups shredded lettuce
¾ cup finely chopped tomato I omitted this
1 ½ cups (6 ounces) finely shredded Cheddar cheese I used Cabot 50% Light Jalapeño Cheddar
¼ cup taco sauce
¼ cup sour cream I used lite sour cream
Heat taco shells according to package directions; keep warm. Meanwhile, brown ground chuck in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring until it crumbles (I got confused and threw the onions in with the meat); drain. Add Chili Seasoning Blend and water; stirring well. Cook over medium heat 3 to 5 minutes or until most of the liquid evaporates. Spoon meat mixture into shells; top with onion and remaining desired condiments.
*Chili Seasoning Blend
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 ½ teaspoons black pepper
¾ teaspoon ground red pepper
Combine all ingredients; store in an airtight container up to 1 month.
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I have a slightly more complicated taco seasoning recipe but I have to say that this one was just as good. I feel foolish thinking about how many times I bought taco seasoning when I have a cupboard full of spices.
I decided to make tacos because I was trying to use up what I had on hand. I had everything to make these tacos except the shells and the lettuce. I usually make nachos or taco salads because hard tacos can be difficult to eat. I ate the first one neatly but the second one fell apart in my hand. I'm not sure what went wrong but both tacos were delicious.
Tonight is menu planning night. I think, with the holidays coming, I'm going to try to stick to the simplest of recipes for the next few weeks.
A Blast From The Past: Beef Tacos from May 2006. This was a more sophisticated taco recipe but frankly I preferred the Easy Taco recipe.
Question of the Day: Do you own many different spices? Do you buy spice blends?
Question of the Day:
I don't buy many pre-made spice blend, I have a generic, do all spice mix....which I will blog about on my spot in the near future...because it is something I didn't even think about until now!
ReplyDeleteOther than "italian seasoning" and Herb Mare, any spice blends I have were likely gifts LOL. I do have a lot of spices on hand, most of which I use for certain things.
ReplyDeleteAbout the taco falling apart. I tried something last time, and it worked for us. Instead of shredding the lettuce, line your taco shell with a solid leaf piece. Then place your meat and cheese and toppings inside your lettuce liner. The shell may still crack and fall apart, but your lettuce leaf keeps the bits nicely contained. Plus it helps not to overfill the shell, but I know how that can be LOL.
If you don't mind a LOT of crunchy lettuce, one of those new-fangled lettuce leaves made for eating as a sandwich (a cross between iceburg and romaine I think?) works extremely well as a liner, or in place of a taco shell if you want to save the fat and calories for GUACAMOLE!
I have some Emeril spices around. Otherwise, no blends. I have enough trouble trying to use all my spices up within the 6 months I'm supposed to (I'm so not mentioning I have spices in there from Kroger when I lived in Blacksburg). Apparently, I'm not real big on spices.
ReplyDeleteNo, not many, really. I have a small spice shelf above my stove, and a small double-story lazy susan in the cabinet, that hold mostly spices. But some I rarely if ever use. DS#1 was on a paprika kick about a year ago, and we have about 5 large bottles of various kinds of paprika. Each used once. And I bought pumpkin pie spice and poultry seasoning (does that count?) yesterday. Garlic powder RULZ here. Oh, and I use oregano a lot for spaghetti sauce.
ReplyDelete