One day I was in big trouble when my kids brought 6 friends home for dinner because they all heard I was
making a batch of my famous tacos. I had all the ingredients ready, enough to feed 10 of us. But at the last
minute I discovered that I did not have a single envelope of the store bought taco seasoning mix that I always
use.
So I had to think fast. What are the
ingredients in that store bought taco mix? I
remembered that there was cumin in it,
because many Mexican recipes call for
cumin. I remembered that cinnamon is a
common ingredient in curries, and that a
touch of cinnamon would probably taste
good. I began to experiment, adding lots of
ingredients from my spice cabinet. The result was delicious and I will never buy packaged taco seasoning
again. Making it at home is easy, inexpensive and contains no MSG or preservatives like some packaged
taco seasoning does.
Try it and see!
This recipe will work out well for 1 pound ground beef, chicken or pork....
Dry ingredients:
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground dried hot red pepper flakes (or more or less to taste)
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon garlic powder, or 2 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and chopped fine
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped fine (or substitute 2 teaspoons onion powder)
Wet ingredients (optional):
½ cup tomato salsa (this will bind the meat mixture and give it a little color)
Directions:
First, brown the meat in a large skillet on medium high heat just until all the pink color is
gone. Drain the fat off and return the skillet to the stove.
Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion pieces are soft and translucent. Then add
all the other ingredients and heat through thoroughly and serve!
Taco Seasoning Recipe