Monday, January 21, 2008

Try it Tuesday

Make your own Taco Bar

Brown the ground meat of your choice (I used ground pork b/c I had it on hand) with garlic, salt, pepper, chili powder and cumin. Do this to your taste. None of the spices are spicy hot, so don't shy away from them. If you have not used cumin before, use it lightly to see if you like it - it has a smoky flavor to it.



Rather than buying pre-fab hard taco shells (which, being a cali girl almost floored me when hubs suggested that we have tacos and he bought the shells - I had never known anyone that bought or used them. My mom always fried her own and they were delish), buy some corn tortillas and warm them on a skillet - no oil required. It takes about 30 seconds on each side. You can use a spatula to turn them, but I use my fingers. Sometimes, when the hubs and I are feeling adventurous, we make our own tortillas using corn flour, water and a tortilla press - they are so good!

Wrap the warmed tortilla in foil. I am lucky enough to have a tortilla keeper for keeping mine warm, but if you don't have a cali source (like my mom who sent me this warmer she bought in the local grocery store for a few bucks) foil works well. You just want to make sure they stay warm and moist.




Finally, cut up your favorite toppings for your tacos. In this case, I used lettuce (all I had was the fancy kind, but normally I would use iceburg), tomatoes, avocados, onions and cheese (if you can find Mexican queso fresco in your grocery store - I recommend it - nice and mild soft cheese). I also use taco sauce for my tacos. In this case we used red and green sauce (the green sauce is nice and tangy - made from tomatillos - again, delish). Sometimes, if I am feeling ambitious or for a party, I make homemade salsa for the tacos, but that's a post for another Try it Tuesday.

Pass all the things around the table - do it family style, making one taco at a time. It's worth it - try something different this week.
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3 comments:

Rebecca said...

LOL! This cracked me up because I am west coast gal too and I had a friend tell me the other day that she bought a "taco kit" and I had to bite my tongue! LOL!!! Pre-fab taco shells are not tacos - at least not in my part of the world, LOL!!!

Life As I Know It said...

Yum! I used to love doing taco's, but, now I have picky kids. Maybe someday they will come around on new foods and I can be creative again with meals!

Blessed Nest said...

I love Tacos yummy...I too am A Cali girl and I am horrified at pre made shells..I use Almond oil and fry mine making my own hard shells but they taste yummy! The bought one's are horrible...I'm off to make some!