Taco seasoning mix

Make your own taco seasoning mix to control the ingredients for better nutrition.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup instant minced onion
• 2 Tbsp. chili powder
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 2 tsp. crushed dried red pepper flakes (if desired)
• 1 Tbsp. instant minced garlic
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1-1/2 tsp. dried oregano (if desired)
• 1/2 tsp. dried marjoram (if desired)
• salt and ground pepper if desired (I don't usually add salt)

Preparation:

I like to use my coffee grinder to reduce all the ingerdients to dust...but this is not necessary.

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and blend thoroughly. Place in a tightly sealed container , store in a cool, dry place.

Makes 6 packages (about 2 Tbsp. each) of mix. 2 Tbsp. equals 1.25-oz. pkg. purchased taco seasoning mix.

Use within 6 months.

Walking Tacos

A couple of weeks ago I made dinner for about 40 middle schoolers attending a church event.  We made Walking Tacos at the request of our daughter, Alayna.

Walking Tacos
taco seasoned ground beef
individual bags of corn chips (we used Fritos)
assorted toppings such as shredded lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, onions, salsa, etc

Each diner opens the bag of chips, spoons in some taco meat and toppings and VIOLA'-a walking taco.

We had a significant amount of the seasoned ground beef left over so I packaged it in a freezer Ziploc bag for use at a later date.  That was last night!  I thawed out the meat, reheated it with a bit of water to "re-sauce" it and had tacos for a quick dinner before another event.

I decided that I am going to purposefully prepare seasoned taco meat and freeze for later use since taco prep seems so laborious when we're in a rush.  I'll use 5 lbs of ground chuck to create 4 packages of seasoned ground beef.  Prepare the meat according to the taco seasoning directions (I'll use 5 packages of  purchased taco seasoning (or look for tomorrows post on making your own seasoning).