Homemade Taco Seasoning

Tacos are loved in our house.  I mean LOVED. They are on the menu almost weekly and they are always my “back-up” meal plan. When you live as far as I do from a a grocery store, take out is even farther. Farther means it is pretty much out of the question because let’s face it when dinner is a fail everyone is already hungry and the hour it will take to get takeout is never going to happen.

The problem with tacos in our house? I love taco seasoning and Cory doesn’t. This causes a problem as I always want my meat to have a bit more kick and Cory prefers to stick to plain jane salt and pepper. BORING! Tacos are meant to have kick, they should have punch, they should have pizzaz and that is what I want.

As a compromise I used to cook a batch of meat and then I would portion out enough for my tacos. I would open up a package of taco seasoning and sprinkle the amount I needed. Problem solved right?

Wrong.

Because I have knocked the packet out of the cupboard and spread seasoning all over my kitchen more times than I really want to count. Wasting a container to store what is left just seems wasteful of a Tupperware to me.  It is usually less than a tablespoon of seasoning but I just can’t bring myself to throw it away either.

This leads me to a true compromise. Making my own taco seasoning. I can make a large batch of it all at once, this means I have enough to fill a Tupperware and tacos with pizzaz.

I also like making my own because I can adjust the amounts of things I love within the mix.  I am trying to cut back on salt (you don’t understand how hard this is for me!) So I have cut most of it out of this recipe.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE the smokey flavor in cumin so I have been known to up that by making the tablespoons heaping, after all I am the only one using this mix.  The below is a pretty decent guideline of what is needed but feel free of course to customize it to your own families preferences.

Now I can have my delicious pizzazed tacos and Cory can have his plain jane tacos.

Boy do I love tacos.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

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Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons cumin
• 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (adjust this to suit your families taste)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

Instructions

1. Combine all the above ingredients in an airtight container. Make sure the lid is on and give it a couple of good shakes.

Notes

**Two tablespoons is equal to one packet of taco mix. To add to your taco meat you would use 1 pound of browned hamburger, two tablespoons of mix and 1/2 - 3/4 cup water.

You had better take a seat because that was a tough one. *Phew* Wipe your brown and pour yourself a glass of wine.

Taco Night Sides

Cilantro Lime Rice
Homemade Fresh Salsa
Fast Fiesta Ideas
Pico de Gallo Chicken Soup

What is your families go to meal?  Do you host a Mexican night once a week in your household?  Favorite Mexican side dish?

Don’t forget to check out the latest printable coupons to see if any of the ingredients have printable coupons available.