Tag: Mexican food

Homemade Taco Seasoning – Better Than Store-Bought!

Making your own spice blends at home is easier, cheaper, and more flavorful than buying pre-packaged seasoning from the store. This homemade taco seasoning is just as good—if not better—than Old El Paso or any other major brand. The best part? You control the ingredients! That means you can emphasize flavors you love while reducing or eliminating the ones you don’t.

Most people already have the spices needed for taco seasoning sitting in their spice cabinet, making it convenient to whip up a batch whenever needed. Whether you’re making tacos, burritos, or even seasoning grilled meats, this versatile blend will elevate your cooking to the next level.

A Brief History of Taco Seasoning

Taco seasoning is a product of Tex-Mex cuisine, which emerged as a fusion of Mexican and American flavors. Traditional Mexican tacos are typically seasoned with a few simple ingredients like salt, chili powder, and lime juice, but as Tex-Mex became popular in the U.S., pre-mixed taco seasoning blends became a staple for home cooks.

Most store-bought taco seasonings contain added preservatives, anti-caking agents, and sometimes even unnecessary fillers. When you make your own, you get pure, fresh spices without any additives—just bold, authentic flavor!

Homemade Taco Seasoning Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp cornstarch (optional, helps thicken sauces)

How to Use

Use 3 tablespoons of this taco seasoning per 1 pound of ground meat. This seasoning works perfectly with:
✔️ Ground beef
✔️ Ground turkey
✔️ Ground chicken
✔️ Diced chicken breasts or thighs
✔️ Steak for carne asada tacos

For best results, cook your meat, drain any excess fat, and then add the seasoning along with 1/4 cup of water. Simmer for a few minutes to allow the flavors to meld.

How to Store Your Taco Seasoning

Store your taco seasoning in an airtight container or glass spice jar in a cool, dry place away from sunlight. Properly stored, this blend will stay fresh for up to 6 months.

To keep it at peak freshness, make small batches as needed. If you love making tacos frequently, you can double or triple the recipe so you always have a ready-to-use blend on hand.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

✔ Better than store-bought – No preservatives, no fillers, just pure spice!
✔ Customizable – Want more heat? Add extra red pepper flakes. Prefer smoky flavors? Try smoked paprika.
✔ Versatile – Use it for tacos, burritos, fajitas, quesadillas, and even as a rub for grilled meats!
✔ Budget-friendly – Making your own spice blends saves money in the long run.

Give this homemade taco seasoning a try, and you’ll never go back to store-bought packets again! 🌮🔥

Homemade Taco Seasoning – Better Than Old El Paso!

How to make Taco Bell Chili Cheese Burrito (Copycat Recipe)

This must be said.  Taco Bell did not put beans in the chili cheese burrito!  There are so many copycat recipes out there that have beans and vinegar in the chili cheese burrito and those should not be in there.  I have no idea why anyone ever thought they should add vinegar, but that taste should not be in the chili cheese burrito.  I imagine that beans were added because someone was trying to figure out how to thicken the chili and every copycat recipe always has a comment from former Taco Bell employees telling everyone that beans do not go in the chili cheese burrito.  There is a secret ingredient that is used to thicken the chili and that is corn meal.  Believe me, this is 100 times better than the recipes with beans and vinegar and it is just like eating the chili cheese burrito from Taco Bell. 

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds ground beef

6 cups cold water

¼ cup cornstarch

½ cup all-purpose flour

6 ounce can tomato paste

2 tbsp mild chili powder

½ tsp jalapeno powder

1 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp dried onion flakes

2 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp ground black pepper

2 ½ tsp salt

2 tbsp corn meal

1 1/2 cups Shredded cheese

6 Large burrito tortillas

Directions:

  1. Cook ground beef in a pot, Dutch oven, or cast-iron pan until browned then drain off excess grease
  2. In a 2 quart mixing bowl add water, cornstarch, flour, and corn meal. Whisk together until fully blended.
  3. Whisk in the tomato paste until fully blended into the liquid mixture.
  4. Stir into the liquid mixture the cayenne pepper, chili powder, jalapeno powder, paprika, onion flakes, cumin, garlic powder, black pepper, and salt.  Mix will. 
  5. Add liquid mixture to the meat and bring to a boil.  Once the mixture hits a boil reduce to a simmer.
  6. Simmer for 45 minutes and stir from the bottom of the pot every 5 minutes to prevent the chili from sticking. 
  7. Once the chili is done simmering remove from heat.
  8. Place one large burrito tortilla on a microwave safe plate and spread 1/4 cup shredded cheese onto the tortilla keeping the cheese away from the edges of the tortilla.  (try to keep an edge of 2 inches without cheese).  Microwave for 30 seconds.
  9. Remove tortilla and melted cheese from microwave and scoop 1/3 cup chili onto the tortilla.  To roll up the burrito, fold in two opposite sides of the tortilla, then rolling from one of the other sides into a burrito.
  10. Enjoy!
Taco Bell Chili Cheese Burrito – Copycat Recipe (NO BEANS!)

How to make sizzling steak fajitas.

Whether its for Taco Tuesday or any day of the week it is hard to beat sizzling steak fajitas for a meal. Join us as we make fresh hot sizzling steak fajitas with fresh peppers and onions.

Indredients:

12 ounce steak

1 green pepper

1 red pepper

1 red onion

2 cloves garlic

juice from one lime

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbs chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

Directions:

  1. Slice onions into long slices and place in a bowl.
  2. Slice green and red peppers into long slices and place in a bowl.
  3. Mince the garlic and place in bowl with vegetables and set aside.
  4. Pour 1 tbs olive oil into a cast iron pan and pour vegetables into pan, saute until soft and caramelized.
  5. While the vegetables cook, slice the steak into long strips.
  6. When the vegetables are done cooking remove and place in a bowl.
  7. Pour steak into the cast iron pan, season with the chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper and the lime juice. Cook until meat is done and sizzling.
  8. Serve the vegetables and steak on tortillas and enjoy!

Optional: Mix up some margaritas to drink with the fajitas. Check out my margarita recipe. https://mylowcountryliving.net/happy-cinco-de-mayo/

How To Make Amazing Sizzling Steak Fajitas

How to make Authentic Mexican Restaurant Style Queso Dip

When I go to Mexican restaurants one of the favorite appetizers that my entire family enjoys is queso dip. There are different types of queso dip, you can get queso that is yellow and had a cheddar cheese base, or you can get white queso that has a base of queso fresco which is a Mexican cheese. We prefer white queso cheese that has a bit of spice to it that gives you that extra flavor kick. Here is my recipe for an authentic queso dip that you would find in a Mexican restaurant.

Ingredients: 

12 oz pepper jack cheese

1 ½ pounds of American Cheese

12 oz of Queso Fresco (Mexican style cheese, can be found in deli or cheese section of your store)

1 pint half and half

1 jalapeño

Optional – red paper flakes (adjust to your taste and heat tolerance)

Instructions:

  1. Shred all your cheese (or cut into small blocks) and mix together in a big bowl.
  2. Pour the half and half into a sauce pan on low heat.
  3. As the half and half begins to warm up slowly start adding in the cheese a small handful at a time and continue to stir the cheese to allow it to melt.
  4. Dice the jalapeño into small pieces and add to the cheese mixture. Continue to stir the cheese to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning.
  5. Add the optional red paper flakes.
  6. Once the queso dip is melted remove it from the heat and serve it in a bowl with corn chips.

Happy Cinco de Mayo – margarita recipe

Today is Cinco de Mayo.  The 5th of May. It’s a holiday celebrated by the Hispanic community and those of us who like to partake in Mexican food and margaritas.  Although margaritas don’t fit into my current eating plan, I will still make some margaritas for my family who is coming by today.  My friends Rich and Karla from Fort Collins, Colorado, showed me this margarita recipe, which I consider to be the greatest margarita in the world!

Learn how to make the world’s greatest margarita.

 Ingredients:   2 ounces tequila (I prefer Patron Silver)

2 ounces Cointreau

1 ounce margarita mix

1 ounce lime juice

1 small pour Grand Marnier

Mix the tequila, Cointreau, margarita mix, and lime juice in a cocktail mixer over several ice cubes. Pour out into a salt rimmed glass and pour in the Grand Marnier until you see the color start to darken in the margarita. Enjoy!