Mid-Week Meals: Taco Night!

For everyday kind of life, an arsenal of tasty and quick (emphasis on quick) recipes are a necessity.  And the recipe get bonus points if the ingredients are those that you likely already have in your cupboard.  About a year ago we found ourselves stuck in a rut with the mid-week meals and so I have been making an effort to seek out recipes that fit the super-quick requirement but either add a little extra in the taste factor quotient or are using new-to-us ingredients.

Taco's are certainly not the newest mid-week dish on the block.  But for us a couple of little changes really freshed up this meal.  The biggest difference was realized through making the meat by a combination of spices (those already in our cupboards) rather than one of those "taco packets" that you get at the supermarket.  They are so much more fragrant and tasty this way.  We also vary things by the fillings; sometimes we go with classic cheese and lettuce and other times we will add a corn salsa, black beans, or whatever sounds good (ie is in our cupboards that week). You could even go tortilla-less and use lettuce as the wrap or crumbled tortilla shells for a taco salad.  My favorite combo is the most simple: soft shell tortilla, cheese, a dollop of sour cream and salsa, and a heaping of iceburg lettuce (which gives such a satisfying crunch).

Taco's are one of those dishes that everyone likes... and lend themselves to an easy family style dinner where everyone can use the combo of toppings that they prefer.  If you haven't had them in a while, I recommend putting them in the mix for next week as I bet your family will love them.

Taco Meat Filling

Adapted from Joy of Cooking

1/2 minced red onion
1 lb ground beef, pork, or turkey
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
1 cup tomato sauce
Minced fresh chili peppers or chili powder or hot red pepper sauce to taste

In a medium heat pan, start browning the meat.  Add the onion.  Cook until the meat is no longer pink and the onions are softening.  Add the spices (through to the tomato sauce) and cook for about 30 seconds while stirring to get the flavors mixed through the crumbled meat. 

Add the tomato and the peppers (we use chili powder instead and it works great).  Cook over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occassionally.  While meat is simmering, start setting out the toppings and warmed tortillas.  Add the meat to a serving dish and it is ready for a family style, create your own taco night. 

Enjoy!

~ Tara