Taco Seasoning

Tacos and other Mexican foods are pretty common fare around our house. Whether we're chowing down on chicken tacos or ones made with ground beef, flour tortillas or hard-shells, they all have one thing in common: taco seasoning.

I'm not one for buying packets of powdered seasonings if I can easily make them myself. I also like to be able to pronounce the names of ingredients in the foods I eat. Therefore, I decided it would be quite simple to create a homemade taco seasoning--you can make it as hot or as mild as you like, based on how much cayenne or red pepper flakes you choose to add to your mix.

Ingredients:
1 T. chili powder
1 1/2 t. cumin
1 t. sea salt
1 t. ground black pepper
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. paprika
1/4 t. red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper (can increase or decrease this amount to your liking)
1/4 t. onion powder

Combine all and stir well.

Store in an air-tight container (I use an old taco seasoning container). I use a funnel to eliminate spills while I transfer the seasonings from the bowl to the container.

***Use 3 Tbsp. seasonings per pound of meat. Add water (approx 2/3 c.), stir, and allow the seasonings to simmer in the meat.