So tacos are pretty simple, and who doesn’t love the traditional beef tacos we all had growing up? Little fact about me: I  did not eat meat (other than seafood) for many years. When I was pregnant with Ava, I craved steak and red meat like crazy, but as silly as it sounds was afraid to eat it in case my body had a strange reaction. So when she was about 4 months old, and the craving was still there (along with issues with iron levels) I bit the bullet…or steak in this case and started eating red meat again. Still no birds, but now we eat meat at least one night a week.

Over the past few months Jeff and I have been making a tradition of “Taco Tuesday” and have some form of tacos, fajitas, or nachos each week. When it comes to the seasoning for taco meat, I am not a huge fan of all of the added preservatives, but they’re just so good! So one night we decided to try and come up with our own. The kids aren’t into tacos so we were able to make it with some spice too. I also use a version of this recipe with my students but we tone it down a bit.

Again, I don’t measure everything so these are all estimates, but you can adjust according to your own preferences. If you don’t care for something, leave it out!

Basically I just mix all of these in a small ramekin:

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2-3 TBSP Chili Powder (this is the “bulk” of the recipe for us)

Then a dash, pinch, or shake of each of the following:

Paprika

Ground cumin

Garlic powder

Dried Oregano

Crushed red pepper flakes

Cayenne pepper

(Sea salt and black pepper to taste-depends on my mood if I add them)

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I usually use a very lean, all natural ground beef and just brown it in a large skillet over medium heat.

Drain beef, return to heat

Add seasoning mix, and 1/4-1/2 cups water, depending on amount of meat

Simmer for a few minutes and enjoy!

You may need to adjust the amounts depending on how much beef you use, I usually make 1 or 2 lbs so we have leftovers for taco salads or nachos later in the week or for lunches.

Since Cinco de Mayo is next week, we will be having “Taco Thursday” instead of Tuesday. We love any reason to celebrate and get the family together, and when tacos are involved it’s always great!

Here are some pics from our Cinco fun last year. I also made sombrero cookies and cactus cupcakes, and of course we had a pinata!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy!

xoxo,

Heather