old school tacos

When I was growing up, about once a week we had Taco Night, and it was one of my favorite nights of the week.

My mom would buy a packet of taco seasoning from the grocery store that she mixed with ground beef. My brother and I were in charge of preparing the condiments, so we would pull out all the bowls in the cabinet and fill them with shredded cheddar cheese, iceberg lettuce, tomato, and sour cream. We always had soft taco shells (for my brother, Hunter) and hard taco shells for me!

Now, as an adult, I tend to go to the grocery store and buy random things without meals in mind. As I stared at the ground turkey I had in the refrigerator, visions of Taco Night swam in my head and I knew I had to find a way to make my own taco meat!

Now, in essence, this isn’t a difficult dish and hardly a “recipe”, but simply because it took me straight back to childhood I had to share it with y’all. It was delicious with whole wheat tortillas in tacos and even better the next day as a healthy taco salad!

Taco Night Turkey (serves 4)
1 lb lean (93/7) ground turkey
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 T chili powder
1/2 T cumin
1 tsp garlic
1/2 tsp cayenne (add more or less for spice)
salt & pepper
In a skillet, combine raw turkey and onions over medium heat. Stir occasionally, browning the meat and cooking the onions. When the turkey is almost fully browned, after about 5-7 minutes, stir in the spices, adding salt & pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly and reduce the heat to medium-low, mincing the meat into small crumbles as you stir. When the meat is fully browned, about 10 minutes total after starting, and the spices are uniformly mixed. Serve hot in tacos or cold in a taco salad!

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