Saturday, March 13, 2010

Oh MMM My!

I made Taco Filling from Simply in Season the other night and I swear it was the absolute best homemade Mexican I have ever made and I have easily made upwards of 2 dozen different Mexican recipes in my life. So from me to you-here it is:


Taco Filling

-1 pound ground meat or 2 cups kidney beans (I used one can of kidney beans, drained, and 1 cup of pinto beans-about half a can)
-1 onion, chopped
-1/2 cup green pepper, chopped (I happened to have 3 multi-colored peppers on hand that needed to be eaten so I used all of them in here)
-1 carrot, shredded, optional (I did not use a carrot)
In a large pan, saute the meat, onions and peppers until the vegetables are softened and the meat is cooked. If using beans, drain and reserve them and saute the vegetables in 1 tablespoon oil.

-3 cloves garlic, minced
-1 tablespoon fresh cilantro or 1 teaspoon dried (I omitted this because I didn't have it)
-1 tablespoon fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dried
-2 teaspoons chili powder
-1 teaspoon cumin
-2 teaspoons lime juice (I used lemon and it turned out great)
-1/2 teaspoon salt (I used about 3/4 teaspoon)
-(One can diced tomatoes in juice-my addition)
Add these ingredients to the meat and/or veggies and saute until garlic is cooked, about one minute. If using beans, add them now. If using the tomatoes, add them as well. Add extra liquid as needed to keep the mixture from drying it. Let mixture simmer about 10 minutes so the flavors can blend.

-3/4 cup cooked rice
Add and stir well.

I think the intention of this Taco Filling was to replace simple ground beef with the packets of seasoning from the grocery store when you make tacos. The purpose is that not only are you making it healthier (because those packets have a ton of salt in them!) but you are also bulking out your meat (with the veggies and rice) and therefore consuming less meat, which we Americans eat way too much of. I added a lot more veggies and extra beans so it wound up being like burrito filling for me. We ate this on soft tacos with cheese on top and even Anne ate it up without complaining! YUM!

2 comments:

Catherine said...

This recipe has been at the top of my list for over a year and I still haven't done it! I actually just penciled it in (again) for next week before reading this, so we'll see!

Nicole said...

Yum! I'm gonna try it!