Taco Tuesdays

As I have previously mentions, we save money by purchasing a cow and having it butchered instead of going to the market and buying beef.  So, with all the ground beef and two kids in the house, we have a lot of tacos.

 

I usually buy the little packets of taco seasoning from the store.  It is one packet per pound of meat (with two growing boys and a husband in the house I usually have to make two pounds when making tacos).  The packets are around a $1 each and after awhile they can add up.  It seems that almost every trip to the grocery store involves me getting them.

Well, the other day I was reading the list of ingredience on the packet and to be honest, I didn't know what half the stuff was.  If it is a seasoning, in my opinion, it should be simple, basic ingredients (i.e. salt, chili powder, etc.) not preservatives and colors.  With this in mind and my recent efforts to be more frugal, I decided I would start making my own, thus allowing me to know exactly what I am putting in my food and saving a few dollars every grocery trip.

After talking to my mom about this, it turns out that she has been making her own taco seasoning for years and she shared her recipie with me.  Turns out, I already had most of the ingredience in my pantry any way.

Here is what I used:

1/4 cup dried, minced onions

1/4 cup chili powder

3 tablespoons salt

4 teaspoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon dried, minced garlic

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon crushed red peppers

2 teaspoons granulated beef bouillon

1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

I mixed the ingredients well and placed them in an air tight container.  To use you just need 2 tablespoons with 1/2 cup water per 1 pound of ground meat.

The picture I included is of one batch of this (so it makes quite a bit).  If you have an air tight container it should last without clumping together for at least 6 months if not longer.  So, you could make more than one batch at a time depending on how often you eat tacos (or other Mexican dishes that you may want a similar flavor profile for). 

Since this turned out to be such an easy project (it took maybe 5 minutes to make this) I am on the search for other seasoning recipes to replace the other packets that I find myself adding to the grocery cart. 

-Sarah D.