Turkey Tacos

Today, I had a hankerin' for Taco Bell and after driving around for about 45 minutes during my lunch hour without coming across one, I decided to make my own for dinner.

Taco night usually comes around every few months in my house. Normally, I use turkey meat, a taco seasoning packet from the grocery store and serve them with flour tortillas, fresh diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce and sour cream. (Do not use 99% fat free turkey! The one time I did this the meat turned out extremely dry and tasteless. I will never do that again.) I didn't want to make more than one stop so when I saw that Trader Joe's doesn't have a taco seasoning mix but saw that they have cumin, I decided to make my own mix. The recipe is below.

Honestly, all I was looking for was plain old iceberg lettuce and roma tomatoes. Instead, I picked up these awesome looking heirloom tomatoes and some artisan lettuce. I also love the handmade tortillas at Trader Joe's. I heat put them in the microwave and cover them with a wet paper towel to steam for about 50 seconds.

It was my first time making my own seasoning mix and I think it turned out well. I didn't have onion powder so I added extra garlic powder. I also cut down the amount of red pepper flakes because I prefer my food mild. I don't think I'll be going back to the packaged stuff when I have all the stuff in my cupboard already!

Turkey Tacos

1 1/2 lbs ground turkey

salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons taco seasoning (recipe follows)

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 cup water

10-12 flour tortillas

diced tomatoes

shredded lettuce

sour cream

Cook turkey meat in large pan over medium to high heat. Break down the meat with spatula as it cooks. Season lightly with salt and pepper (remember, the taco seasoning has salt and pepper). Drain as much of the fat as possible. Mix cornstarch with water, making a slurry. Sprinkle the taco seasoning over meat and add water mixture. Stir to incorporate all the seasoning. After about 5 more minutes, turn off heat and set aside to cool slightly.

Serve with tortillas, tomatoes, lettuce and sour cream.

Taco Seasoning

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Mix together in small bowl or Ziplock bag.