Homemade Taco Seasoning

I love tacos. I love that everyone in my house loves tacos. Taco night is the best night. Everyone eats, everyone is happy, no one says the word “disgusting” in connection to my cooking. It’s bliss. They even eat taco leftovers. I can send them for lunch. I love tacos.

I have to say I think my tacos are pretty good, too. I have come a long way with cooking, but I am not a natural cook. I look at my sister-in-law when she cooks, and you can just see it all comes so easily to her. Not so with me, I just keep at it. But any time I have made tacos for someone outside our immediate family I have been asked for the recipe for my taco seasoning. So I’m sharing it now. (Not that I think tacos constitute being a “good cook.” But having my gourmet cook sister-in-law ask me for any recipe? I’ll take it.)

I found it on allrecipes.com and it’s the only recipe I follow. I rewrote it on an index card and now I keep it taped on the inside of my cabinet door along with some other go-to recipes, in a very organized fashion…

Homemade Taco Seasoning

from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 TBSP chili powder

1/4 tsp. each: garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes, oregano

1/2 tsp. paprika

1 1/2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. each: salt, black pepper

Mix together and that’s it. I use this recipe per 1 pound of ground turkey (or beef). So if I make 2 pounds I double the recipe. It’s a bit spicy; the kids drink a lot of milk or water when we have tacos. You can use less or more of the mix depending on how spicy you want it. Try a little less or more crushed red pepper flakes, too. You can make a big batch and store it in an airtight container to use again.

Brown the meat, add the seasoning, add about 1/2 cup water. Let it cook a bit longer on low heat. Serve on the healthiest tacos or tortillas you can find. Or in a romaine leaf if you’re really feeling healthy!! Easiest and happiest dinner ever 🙂

We also make our own tortillas when we can manage it. They’re easy (but admittedly not as easy as pulling a tortilla out a package) and very good. The kids prefer them to the store-bought tortillas. I’ll share more about that soon, too…