Thursday, May 22, 2014

Tacos in England with Taco Seasoning

Life in England is far cry from the US, let along Vegas.  There are so many things that way different!  Rain, cell phone service, stores and restaurants not open past 7 or on Sundays, trees and grass... just about everything.  I had my first encounter with a plumber last week.  We had a pin hole in our en-suite bathroom tap, as they call it here.  After calling the first plumber to come look at it to confirm for our landlords, it took 2 weeks for the next one to come fix it.  It then took 3 hours for him to replace the faucet.  Not a fancy faucet, just a typical run of the mill faucet.  Crazy!  The hubs just kept asking me how it took so long and I honestly didn't have an answer.  Besides the 15 minute personal call he made half way into it, the guy seemed to be working the whole time.  Oh well, I guess we can all slow down from time to time.  Right? 
My kids have discovered the wonderment of snails since we've been here.  They think they are the coolest things ever.  We see snail slime all over the place while we walk to the bus stop and sometimes after a rain will catch a little guy on his way or hanging out.  They try to collect empty shells when they can and some are pretty neat.  But even the snails, I swear, are slower! 
Here's a little guy we saw this morning :)
With everything changing and new and different to get to used to and figure out we try to keep at least some normalcy.  We all love Mexican food and learned to love it even more in Vegas.  We typically have "Taco Tuesday" that isn't necessarily always tacos, or always on Tuesday for that matter, but at least Mexican.  We'll have quesadillas, Chicken Tacos and Red Rice, tortilla soup or just regular ground beef tacos or taco salad.  We don't discriminate with our Mexican foods.  :)  As I have said though, everything is slower here, even the avocados take weeks to ripen.  I had never seen such a green avocado until coming here, not even in Ohio!  So, guacamole isn't made quite as easily or as often, but we make due. 
This is my favorite basic Taco Seasoning recipe.  I like to make my own because then then I know what's in it, it tastes better and then I can add it to whatever I'm making too. 

Taco Seasoning

Mix Altogether:
1 cup minced dried onion
1/2 cup chili powder
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/4 cup cumin
2 T oregano
2 T salt
1 T paprika
2-3 T red pepper flake (optional)
2-3 T cornstarch (optional) I like to add this to give it a thickener when it is cooked with the beef.  It helps give it that thicker sauciness that you get from the packets at the store if you like that. 

Store in an airtight jar or container.

Directions:  Cook 1lb ground beef.  Add 1-2 T taco seasoning to taste and 1/2 cup water, stir and let simmer 5-10 minutes.  Fill your taco and eat!

Mason jars are great for storing stuff like this!


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