We had some young friends visiting for dinner so I decided to make tacos. I don’t need – or even miss – the shell so I planned to have taco salad. All my life, I’ve always made taco meat with that little packet you get at the supermarket or maybe it’s even included with the taco shells. You know the seasoning packet, right? All those crazy ingredients and words you can’t pronounce? Well, I decided that I didn’t want to eat that anymore so it was time to make my own. The test would be if the kids ate the taco meat without noticing the difference. And they did! Loved it and even had seconds. No sugar, MSG, or other crazy science!

Taco salad is one of those fantastic recipes that you can make with whatever you have on hand. I would have loved some black olives, but I didn’t have any. Still delicious! If you don’t like bell pepper, it isn’t necessary. Just throw the still-hot meat onto the lettuce, top it with whatever veggies you have on hand that sound good to you, a tablespoon or more of salsa to make a dressing, a pinch of salt and away you go. Lunch or dinner (or even breakfast) is done!

Taco Meat

1 Tbsp. tallow or F.O.C. (fat of choice)

1/2 onion, chopped

1 lb. ground beef

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

3/4 tsp. salt

14 oz. can tomato sauce

4 oz. can diced green chiles

1/2 c. water

Directions

1) Melt tallow in a large skillet over medium-high. Add chopped onions and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes.

2) Add meat and garlic and cook while breaking into smaller chunks until brown, about 10 minutes. Add chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, and salt and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

3) Pour in tomato sauce, green chiles, and water. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, until most of the moisture has evaporated, about 25-30 minutes. If the meat dries out too quickly, add an additional 1/4-1/2 c. water, and continue to simmer. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Eat with salad, eggs, lettuce cups, or on its own – you can’t go wrong!

Serves 3 kids + 1 adult