Tacos with Homemade Seasoning

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I have made tacos since I was a kid.  It was always a store bought seasoning packet and following the directions on the package.  These directions usually involved browning your meat, skimming the fat, adding the seasoning and water, and simmering.  When I started making my own homemade seasoning about a year ago, I found it to be just as simple, but better.  Recently, I observed a new method of preparing the ground beef.  Boiling the meat, not frying the meat.  It sounds gross to say "boil the meat", but the resulting flavors and textures are contradictory.  It is now the preferred method for making more authentic taco meat in my kitchen.  

Ingredients

Taco Seasoning
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt or 1/2 teaspoon of regular table salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (can adjust according to taste)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1. In a small bowl, mix together the seasoning ingredients.  Can be stored in an airtight container

Taco Meat

1 lb. lean ground beef

3 tablespoons taco seasoning

1 1/2 to 2 cups of water

Taco shells of choice

Toppings of choice for tacos

1. Heat large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add ground beef, taco seasoning, and water.  Break the meat up with a spoon, and allow to simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until all of the water has evaporated.
2. Serve on taco shells of choice with toppings.

Notes:

• The taco seasoning recipe makes about two taco meat recipes.  I store the seasoning in an airtight container for up to a month.  After a month, it begins to loose its flavor.  
• The taco meat can be used for other dishes such as nachos, burritos, or enchiladas.  
• When preparing the ground beef, I will often run a knife through it to break it up before cooking it.  It makes it more tender.  

Photo from: http://lutongpinas.com/tag/ground-beef-tacos/

Chipotle Pork Tenderloin

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Pork tenderloin is one of my favorite ways to eat pork (bacon is my favorite).  I found this recipe from Eatingwell.com (and borrowed their picture), and it is one of the best ways to prepare pork.  When I made this the first time, I had never worked with chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and found it overwhelming at first, but I stuck with the recipe and after marinating and cooking the tenderloin, it was amazing.  The chipotle gives the meat a smoky flavor (one that I miss since living in an apartment with no access to a grill), and the lime juice and orange juice give it a hidden tang in the background.  You only taste it at the end of each bite.  This is best when it can marinate overnight.  The original recipe says to grill the meat, but like I said above, I do not have a grill.  I do have a grill pan thanks to a wonderful mother-in-law.  I have been trying to figure out the best way get the tenderloin cooked through without smoking us out of the apartment.  I think I finally figured it out.  The oven. This recipe would work very well on chicken too.  Give it a try!

Ingredients
1 canned chipotle chile in adobo plus 1 teaspoon adobo sauce,
1 garlic clove, minced (or crushed in a garlic press)
1/2 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
8 ounces pork tenderloin, (see Kitchen Tip), trimmed of fat
*For some added heat, add some sliced jalapenos seeds and all

1.  Combine chipotle and sauce, garlic, orange juice, lime juice, vinegar, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper in a blender or mini food processor; blend or process until the chipotle is chopped and the mixture is relatively smooth. Pour into a sealable plastic bag, add pork and seal, squeezing out any excess air from the bag. Turn to coat with the marinade. Refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours.

2.  Preheat grill to high.  Remove the pork from the marinade (discard marinade). Grill the pork, turning occasionally, until an instant-read thermometer inserted diagonally into the center of the meat registers 145° F, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the pork to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.





In the oven: 
Heat the grill pan on the stove over high heat.  Once it is hot, add the meat.  Turn several times browning all sides (and allowing gorgeous grill marks to leave their mark).  Put both pan and meat into a preheated, 400ºF oven and allow to cook for about 20 minutes or until a meat thermometer registers 145ºF.  Allow the meat to rest under foil for about 5 minutes, and then slice.

Chicken Quesadillas

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This recipe is an original that I created after reading a variety of quesadilla recipes.  The layers begin with a cream cheese mixture spread over a flour tortilla, and then topped with queso cheese, chicken, fresh tomatoes, and more queso cheese.  Then it is finally topped off with a second flour tortilla and a thin layer of butter.  Both the husband and I really enjoyed this dinner.
I seasoned my chicken breast with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cumin and then baked it in the oven for about 30 minutes until it was cooked through.  To roast jalapenos, place on a pan and bake at 450º F for about 20 minutes or until the skin begins to blacken.  Remove from the oven and place jalapenos in a heavy duty zipper bag.  Allow to sit in the bag 20 minutes and then remove the skin of the pepper.  Remove the top and seeds.  Dice.


Makes 5 servings.


Ingredients
10 Fajita sized flour tortillas
1 cooked chicken chicken breast, thinly sliced
1 oz. tablespoon reduced fat cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper 1/2 cup diced onions
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 cup diced tomatoes, seeded
1 teaspoon diced, roasted jalapeno
1 1/2 cup queso cheese

1.   In a medium saute pan, cook onions over medium heat until they are translucent, about 5 minutes.  Chop the cilantro and place in a small mixing bowl.  Add cream cheese, diced jalapeno, cumin, salt, pepper.  Add onions to the mixture.  Stir to combine.  


2.  Spread a thin layer of the cream cheese mixture over 5 tortillas.  Sprinkle a tablespoon of cheese, place a few slices of chicken, 2 tablespoons of tomatoes, and another tablespoon of cheese on each tortilla.  Place another tortilla over each topped tortilla.  Spread a little butter over the top of each quesadilla.  


3.  Heat a nonstick frying pan over medium heat.  Place one quesadilla butter side down in the pan.  Add a little butter to the bottom of the quesadilla.  Cook until it brown and then flip.  When both sides are browned, remove from the pan and cut into quarters.  Repeat with remaining quesadillas.