Taco Seasoning

So when I was at Costco this weekend I got a wild hair and bought 3 pounds of organic ground beef. I never cook with ground beef, or really red meat in general, but bought it for two reasons. #1 - Costco makes me buy things I don't really need and #2 - I am in a major cooking rut and figured this would help me expand my culinary experiments. I love how Costco's meat comes in small portions that you can freeze - so now 2 pounds are in the freezer and I don't feel pressure to eat that much beef in one week. I also stocked up on organic chicken and salmon while I was there. If you haven't eaten Costco's salmon yet, you must try it - I swear it is the best grocery store salmon there is (with the exception of Whole Foods fresh caught salmon of course).

About this cooking rut - I guess I've been so busy lately that when I do have time to cook, I have just been throwing stuff together at the last minute and not going by a plan. I hate this because cooking is where I like to unwind at the end of the day, and really where I feel most creative. Lord knows I lack creativity in a lot of other arenas! I also feel like I've made every vegetarian dish and chicken dish in the book, so when I do have time to cook, I have had a hard time thinking of anything new and exciting.  Do you guys have cooking ruts? What do you do to get past them?

Anyway, I digress. After eating tacos at my friend Diana's house last week I've been craving them non stop, so decided to put that beef into action and make tacos last night. When I started pulling out the ingredients I realized I was lacking a lot of stuff - taco seasoning, salsa, and sour cream. Whoops. Luckily John stopped at CVS and grabbed some salsa, and with "spring break" right around the corner, I didn't mind skipping the sour cream. For the taco seasoning? I googled homemade taco seasoning and found a bunch of options. I ended up making this version and it was really good! Plus it lacked all of the sodium that the store bought packets I usually buy have. Taco seasoning packets are so easy I can't say that I'll never buy one again, but this is a nice alternative if you have the time and want to control exactly what goes into your food.

Taco Seasoning

Recipe Source: Allrecipes.com

Seasons 1 lb of meat

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, mix well. Can store in an airtight container in your spice rack.