hamburger

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Taco Seasoning for Taco Meat

Well, here it is Sunday, and looking for a quick lunch/dinner after church. I used to make tacos for Sunday dinner all the time when our kids were young as it was quick and they liked it (or at least they ate it). How could I lose? Anyway, decided to make it today as I thought I had all the ingredients. Turns out – no taco seasoning! After a quick search on the Internet, I came up with something I thought would work based on several ideas.

Taco Seasoning

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp. Ancho chili powder (this is a milder, sweeter chili powder that I really like – sub as you wish)
  • 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • 1 tsp. Sweet Hungarian Paprika
  • 1.5 tsp. cumin
  • 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp. sea salt  (you can use regular salt; I’m just a lover of sea salt as flavor seems brighter)
  • 1 tsp. fresh ground pepper (this is really a ballpark measure – I ground until I was sick of it)
  • 1 tsp. cornstarch
  • NOTE: I add fresh onions and garlic to my taco meat – otherwise you will want to add onion and garlic powder.

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together. Store in an airtight container. This batch should make 2 batches of taco meat, depending on how much you use.

If you want to know how I used it, here’s what I did today… tomorrow may be different 🙂

Put it together with the hamburger:

  1. Brown 1 lb hamburger, draining fat.
  2. Add 3-4 cloves garlic and 1 onion, chopped. Cook until onions are done.
  3. Drain 1 15 oz can dark red kidney beans. Rinse, add to meat mixture and mash slightly.
  4. Add 1 small can of diced green chilies
  5. Add 2 Tbsp. of Taco seasoning and 1 cup of water. Cook until desired consistency, adding water if needed.
  6. Put your tacos together as desired.
  7. This went over VERY well with all present. The green chilies and kidney beans were a new addition and think I’ll keep them.
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New Chili Recipe

Hot Peppers from our garden

Hot Peppers from our garden

I was at my sister’s this past week and she made chilil…. a nice dish to welcome the fall weather. It inspired me to make a pot of chili when I got home. Instead of my usual recipe where I marinate the meat overnight (which should be another entry), I put this together using hot peppers from our garden. Not sure what the variety of pepper it is, but it added a nice kick to the chili. Here’s a picture of the peppers in case anyone knows what they are (I didn’t plant them).

Here’s the recipe as I recall. There is no recipe to reference… just put it together as the mood suited me at the moment.

My New Chili Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs. hamburger
  • 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
  • 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 3-4 stalks celery, chopped
  • 2 14 oz. cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes
  • 2 14 oz. cans dark red kidney beans, drained & rinsed
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 4+ hot peppers, minced (wear latex/vinyl gloves when you do this – voice of experience speaking. You are NEVER as careful as you think you will be.)
  • 2 Tbsp. Ancho Chili Powder (much milder and a bit sweeter than regular chili powder)

    Chili server with tortilla chips

  • 1 Tbsp. Cumin powder
  • 2 tsp. of oregano
  • Sour cream or plain Greek yogurt (optional)

Putting it Together:

  1. Brown hamburger, seasoning with salt and pepper as desired & then set aside.
  2. Heat Olive Oil and then saute celery, garlic, and onions until soft. Add hamburger.
  3. Add Ancho chili powder, cumin, oregano and hot peppers. cook a few minutes.
  4. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, and kidney beans, mixing thoroughly.
  5. Cover and simmer 1-2 hrs to meld the flavors. Add water if it becomes too thick.
  6. Server with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt if desired.