Taco Tuesday!

Ok, that's a lie. Tacos should never be restricted to one day of the week. They should be had on any day, and for any occasion or whim. Tacos are flat out delicious. Since I'm of the Au Naturale persuasion I make my own taco seasoning. Turns out, it's cheaper AND better for you!




1 lb ground beef or turkey
1/4 c. water
1 t. cumin
1 t. chili powder
1 t. salt
1/4-1/2 t. pepper
1 clove garlic (or 1/2 t. garlic powder)
1 -2 t. grated onion(or 1/2 t. onion powder)


Brown the meat with onion and garlic, add water and seasonings, simmer to reach desired consistency. (appx. 5 minutes)

Easy right? and no red 40 or yellow 5 or anything that preserves freshness and gives you cancer! :-)


On taco night I find I always need salsa, but I don't always buy it or have all the ingredients to make a stellar fresh one (for some reason I never remember to buy cilantro and peppers!). So in a pinch I have a simple and tasty recipe from my dad that only uses things I keep on hand. It uses a lot of the same ingredients as the taco seasoning. I grow and bottle a kajillion tomatoes (yes, that's the exact number) every year so I just use those. If that's not something you do, you can just use canned tomatoes from the store.


Jim's Salsa

two 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes
(or 1 qt bottled)
One 4 oz can mild or medium diced green chiles
1t. cumin
1 t. chili powder
1 /2 t. garlic salt
1/4 t. garlic powder
(I use 1 clove fresh minced garlic and 1 t. salt instead of the previous 2)
1 t. onion powder (or 1-2 t. grated fresh)
(add 1/4 t. cayenne if you want some heat)

Blend all ingredients in blender except chiles. Blend well. Add chiles and blend a few seconds (or not at all depending on how chunky you like it). You can, of course play with amounts of ingredients to get the taste you want, it's easy, hope you like it!