Different way to fill tacos

In my house growing up, we had tacos once a week for dinner.  Tacos were ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and sour cream.  Tacos are also my husband's favorite meal, but in his house, tacos were:  shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, sour cream, shredded cheese, sour cream, salsa, peppers, red or green bell peppers diced, green and red onions, and even olives.

In my house, tacos were either eaten in corn tortillas that my mom had fried or flour tortillas.  In my husband's house, tacos were served in the corn shells that you buy at the store.  My husband just discovered that Trader Joe's is now selling the shells (which is wonderful since Sami will eat them!).

So, we ate them for the first time tonight.  First, I put in the beans and then the other stuff in the taco in layers.  My husband, on the other hand, put all the stuffings on his plate, mixed it up together with his fork and then scooped it into the shell.  Wow!  I'd honestly never seen anyone do this before (it's not the way we eat tacos in LA), but it makes a lot of sense and then you really get to taste everything together!

Taco Seasoning

When I was growing up, my mom made tacos every week. I grew up in LA. =) I ate quesadillas several times a week as my afternoon snack. It still surprises me to meet people that don't eat tortillas very often, because everyone ate them where I grew up! Anyways, back to the tacos.

When my mom made tacos, she would mince a small onion and saute it with a pound of ground beef. Then, she would add an 8 oz. can of tomato sauce. I always liked it this way growing up. My husband grew up though in the Northeast with taco seasoning. So, I started looking for a combination of spices to add to our tacos.

A few years ago, I read Miserly Moms by Jonni McCoy and adapted her recipe. I don't mix up the spices ahead of time. I just pull them out and make a light sprinkle of each spice over the top of the browned meat and onion mixture. After I've browned the meat, I add the spices before I add the tomato sauce. These are the spices I sprinkle over: Oregano, Cumin, Chili Powder (mild), Garlic Powder, and a little salt. Then, I add the can of tomato sauce and heat it through with the meat. I only give a light sprinkle of each spice over top. If you like it spicier, you can play with the amount that you add. I would start light and then add more if you'd like.

Most packaged spices add in preservatives and often MSG, so I feel a lot better about cooking the meat this way! I also drain a can of black beans sometimes and add them to the meat to make it stretch a little farther. =)