Making your own taco seasoning is easy and once you’ve tasted the homemade version, you’ll never want the store bought kind again. Most of the ingredients you probably already have on hand and can be adjusted just the way you like it. If you and your family like it spicy, you can add more heat or less if you like just a little kick. I like to double the batch and keep it on hand. It’s great not only for tacos, but in pasta dishes, on chicken and even on beef. I’m sure that you can find many ways to use this versatile spice blend.
So grab your spices and here’s what you need:
*1 TBS chili powder
*1 tsp. cumin
*1/2 tsp. black pepper
*1/2 tsp. salt
*1 tsp. paprika
*1/2 tsp. oregano
*1/2 tsp. garlic powder
*1/2 tsp. onion powder
Combine all ingredients and store in an air tight container.
Enjoy!
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Happy 2022 everyone. I hope this year is really good to all of us. On my home- away -from -home site that I follow (FoodTribe) the question was asked what was the first thing you cooked in 2022. I wished that I had a grand answer, but it was breakfast…..which if you’ve looked through my blog you will see there is quite a few (ok more than a few) breakfast posts. So I guess this could be the second thing that I cooked in 2022, chorizo and potato tacos with a cilantro slaw.
My mother in law has been staying with us for a few months so we took her to one of our favorite local Mexican grocery store. I always have a hard time not bringing home half the store. They have such wonderful meats, produce and other food items that I just can’t find at our regular grocery stores, not to mention my hubby has given me a love for Latin and Mexican cuisine that I never fully appreciated until I met him. It was on this shopping trip that I found some Colombian chorizo. I’ve bought and tasted several different kinds of chorizo, but not Colombian. Colombian chorizo is not as spicy as the Mexican version and it does not have as much paprika as the Spanish kind. This is one is a nice change. It has a little hint of smokiness with just a touch of heat. The finely chopped green onions and cilantro mixed into it adds another level of flavor. I decided this would be great in tacos. I really wanted to let the flavors shine so I didn’t want to add a whole lot to it. The potatoes added a nice subtle flavor, while the cilantro slaw added a nice crunch and cooling texture as well, and cilantro is always a nice touch in my book. All of it came together nicely to make one tasty taco.
If you can’t find Colombian chorizo don’t worry, you can use Mexican or Spanish. Mexican chorizo is generally a fresh sausage and is cooked like ground meat or other sausage links. The Spanish version is more like a dried cured sausage, which is closer to the Colombian version.
Here’s what you need to make your own:
*1 large potato; peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes; I used russet potatoes but you can use gold potatoes as well.
*1 Tbs. or more canola oil
*1 lb. pre cooked Colombian chorizo (or any other style of your choosing) chopped
*1 small onion, diced
*salt to taste
*cilantro small bunch roughly chopped and divided; some will be used for the slaw and the tacos
*lime juice
*soft flour or hard corn tortillas; I used both.
For The Cilantro Slaw
*shredded cabbage mix for slaw; I bought the pre mixed kind in a bag.
*mayonnaise to taste
*olive oil to taste
*cilantro to taste
*salt and pepper to taste
*lime juice to taste
Fill a pot with water and add potatoes. Bring to a boil. Boil potatoes until potatoes are almost tender; drain.
While potatoes are boiling, add the ingredients for the slaw in a large bowl.
Mix all of the ingredients together tasting it as you go.
Add in more until it is to your liking; set aside.
In a large skillet (preferably cast iron) add canola oil and heat to medium high heat. When the skillet is hot, add in the potatoes and the onions.
Cook while stirring frequently until potatoes start to brown and onions are soft; about 3 to 5 minutes. Add in a pinch of salt.
Place chorizo in the skillet with the potatoes and onions.
Cook while stirring frequently until chorizo starts to brown; about 3 to 5 minutes. Add some lime juice (about 2 tsp.) and cilantro ( a little less than 1/4 cup). Stir together and cook for about 1 to 2 minutes. Taste and add in salt if needed.
Warm up the tortillas. If using the hard corn tortillas that come in a box, warm up according to package directions.
Spoon the chorizo potato mixture onto or into the tortillas and top with the cilantro slaw.
Nope, it’s not Tuesday but who says you have to eat tacos only on a Tuesday. These slow cooker pork tacos are good for any day of the week. All you have to do is throw together some ingredients, marinate the pork then do a nice rub down with some spices and let the slow cooker do all the rest of the work. Look at that tender, tasty pork topped with some crunchy Guatemalan slaw (my version anyway) and cilantro and tucked away in warm tortillas. You know you want one too so go….go and make you a few right now…. ok you can make more than a few, no one will know, I won’t tell.
Here’s what you need:
*aprox 3 LB pork loin; pork shoulder works great too, but this was all my grocery store had at the time.
*1 pkg of flour tortillas
*chopped cilantro for garnish
Marinade:
*1/2 cup orange juice
*1/4 cup lime juice
*1/2 large onion, chopped
*4 garlic cloves
*2 TBS soy sauce
*2 tsp. white wince vinegar
*1 TBS. Worcestershire sauce
*2 tsp. brown sugar
*1/4 cup olive oil
*1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped stems and all
Rub:
*2 tsp. dried oregano
*1 tsp. cumin
*1/4 tsp chipotle powder; or more or less to taste
*1 tsp. onion powder
*1 tsp. garlic powder
*1/2 tsp. salt
Braising Liquid:
1/2 cup orange juice
2/3 cup sprite, 7 up or Sierra Mist
1/2 large onion, chopped
For the Slaw:
*1 bag of shredded cabbage
*1 TBS Mayonnaise or more to taste
*cilantro, chopped to taste
*olive oil, to taste
*salt to taste
*lime juice, to taste
In a blender, combine all of the ingredients to the marinade
Blend until well combined.
Place the pork in a zip top bag and pour the marinade over the pork; squeeze as much of the air out of the bag as possible and seal.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or over night. Turn the bag over at least once during the marinating time.
30 to 45 minutes prior to cooking, pull out the pork from the bag, with paper towels wipe the excess marinade off. You still want to leave some on if possible.
Mix all of the ingredients together for the rub.
Place the pork in to a shallow dish and rub the spice mixture on all sides of the pork.
Let sit for 30 to 45 minutes.
Mix together the braising liquid; set aside.
Place the pork in to the slow cooker. If it has a fat cap, that will go right side up. Pour the braising liquid over the top and around the pork.
As you can see, I did not cover the pork over half of the way up with the orange juice mixture. I wanted just enough to give it flavor and tenderize it, but I also wanted the flavor of the pork to shine through instead of the braising mixture.
Carefully remove the pork from the slow cooker and place on a large cutting board. Let it sit for 15 minutes.
With 2 forks shred the pork.
Place in a bowl or shallow dish and cover with foil to keep warm.
Heat a large cast iron skillet to medium high heat. Place a tortilla in the pan and heat until it starts to have a few dark spots, about 15 to 20 seconds; flip it over and warm the other side. Repeat with each remaining tortilla.
Place the shredded pork on a tortilla and add any desired condiments such as cheese, sour cream or guacamole. Top with the Guatemalan slaw and cilantro. Serve and Enjoy!
I’m putting a spin on your ordinary tacos. These are great for using up any left over hot dogs. The hotdogs are split then pan seared in a little bit of an oil mixture with cumin, coriander and chili powder. Then the hotdog tacos are layered with guacamole, cheese, crema, and some Guatemalan slaw all tucked into a nice, crispy taco. It doesn’t have to be a Tuesday to get your taco fix.
Here’s what you need:
*crispy taco shells; I found that the stand and stuff version work better because it holds more filling.
Make the Guacamole if preparing it homemade. Place plastic wrap onto the guacamole and then cover tightly so it will not turn brown; set aside
Heat taco shells following the directions on the box.
While the taco shells are heating, heat a large pan on medium high heat. Mix together the oil, cumin, coriander and chili powder and pour into the pan.
Place the hotdogs in the pan and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes or until they start to turn brown.
Turn them over and cook on the other side for about 2 minutes or until that side starts to turn brown.
Time to build your taco. Add a layer of guacamole on the bottom of the shell, then place the two halves of the hotdogs on top of the guacamole. Next dollop….yes dollop some crema or sour cream over the hotdogs, then layer on the cheese. Top with the Guatemalan slaw and enjoy!
It’s taco night once again! This taco was inspired by Sam the Cooking Guy’s Tiny Tacos from Jack In The Box recipe. No, these are not tiny tacos, but for taco filling he mixed together ground beef and refried beans. I’ve had refried beans in my taco, but never mixed and mingled together. Even my hubby, who loves tacos, was very intrigued. My version has refried black beans instead of regular refried beans, among a few other tasty spices. Here’s what I used:
*hard taco shells ( you can used soft as well)
*ground beef
*diced onion
*garlic powder ( I did not have any fresh garlic because as a surprise to me, my garlic I bought at the store had gone bad)
Heat a medium to large skillet to medium high heat. Place ground beef in the skillet and break apart while browning; add onions.
Continue cooking until beef is cooked and onions start to turn tender. Drain off fat if needed.
Add garlic powder cumin, coriander, salt, chipotle powder and onion powder. I started with 2 tsp each and added more to taste.
Mix into the beef. Add refried beans to the skillet.
Mix well with the beef. It will seem a little hard to mix at first, but as the beans heat up, it will get easier. If the mixture is too thick, pour in a small amount of water.
I added the water in the refried bean can do it gave it a little flavor to it.
Add a few drops of hot sauce. I like Frank’s Red Hot sauce, but you use what ever brand you prefer.
Next add some lime juice and chopped cilantro to taste.
Mix well and taste to see if any more spices should be added. Turn heat down to medium low and simmer for 10 minutes or until beef mixture is heated thru. While beef is simmer, heat tacos according to package directions.
Place beef and refried bean mixture into shells. Top with guacamole and any other toppings you desire and serve.
I know what you are thinking, another chicken taco? Yes, it is indeed another chicken taco. I had some leftover ingredients from previous dinners, so this was a good way to use them up and turn it into another stay at home dinner. On a side note, hubby and I have been watching Taco Chronicles on Netflix, so that probably explains our sudden craving for tacos.
For this taco I used the rotisserie chicken I had stashed in the freezer, some taco shells from the previous chicken taco dinner, potatoes and a can of black beans. This is another quick meal that you can add any of your favorite sides that you like to serve on taco night.
Here’s what you need:
cooked chicken such as a rotisserie chicken, chopped
onion powder; to taste
garlic powder; to taste
cumin; to taste
coriander; to taste
dried oregano; to taste
cilantro, chopped (I used dried because my store was out of the fresh kind)
juice of 1 small lime
1/2 C tomato sauce or more if desired
7 baby red potatoes or 3 to 4 big ones; chopped into small pieces
1 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs butter
salt; to taste
pepper to taste
refried black beans
hard shell tacos
Preheat oven to 425°.
Chop potatoes into small pieces.
Place potatoes in a small baking pan. Melt butter. Pour melted butter and olive oil over potatoes.
Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss potatoes to coat.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender and start to turn brown, stirring occasionally; set aside.
While potatoes are cooking, chop the chicken.
Heat a skillet to medium high heat and add 1 Tbs olive oil. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Add onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, coriander, oregano, cilantro and lime juice to the chicken.
Stir well to mix.
Add potatoes to the chicken in the skillet.
Pour in tomato sauce and mix well.
Taste and add more spices if desired. Turn heat down to medium low and heat thru. Take skillet off the heat and set aside.
Warm refried beans according to can directions.
Warm taco shells in the oven according to package directions; set aside.
To assemble the tacos, spoon desired amount of refried beans at the bottom of the taco shells. Next add chicken and potato mixture. Top with cheese if desired.
I wasn’t planning on posting this because it was really a spur -of -the -moment -throw -together- -dinner kind of meal, but I have had some ask for the recipe. So you will notice there isn’t any pictures on how to put it together, but it’s pretty easy. Here is what I used:
I like to buy a rotisserie chicken when it’s on sale, break it down and shred the meat. I then freeze it for later use. This is what I used for these tacos. Take desired amount of chicken and chop into bite size pieces.
Heat taco shells according to package directions and set aside.
Heat about 2 Tbs of oil in a large skillet. Add onions and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Throw in the chicken and add all the spices, salt and pepper to taste. Cook about 10 minutes stirring often. Add cilantro and lime juice. cook for another minute or two. If you are using a boxed taco kit with the hard shells, you can add the taco sauce to the chicken mixture as well.
Fill taco shells with chicken mixture, add topping of choice and top with Guatemalan slaw.
A Foodie In The South 