Homemade Taco Seasoning

We have been loving our Mexican food lately. I don't really like cooking with pre-made mixes, although easy, there is usually fake stuff in there. So, we tried a taco seasoning recipe from Allrecipes.com, and it has become our go-to for taco making.

If you like pico-de-gillo, but have never tried to make your own, it's so easy and is delicious on tacos. Just dice up a couple tomatoes and one small red onion. Then, chop about 1/2-1 cup of fresh cilantro, put it all together and squeeze half a lemon (or lime) and add a pinch of salt. Delicious! (Add a quarter of diced jalapeno pepper for heat).

Taco Seasoning (Makes enough for 2 lbs of beef)
1 tbsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional - I usually don't add because of the kids)
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients together. Cook beef in a little bit of vegetable oil and add seasoning mix (add half if cooking 1 lb of beef, add entire mix if cooking 2 lbs of beef). Cook until beef is no longer pink.
2. Add 1/4 - 1/2 cup of water to beef, stir, spoon into tacos and enjoy! (My favorite layering is a smear of sour cream on a crunchy taco shell, beef, cheese, homemade pico-de-gillo, and lettuce...and maybe a little hot sauce!).