Homemade Taco Seasoning

Tacos are a big fave in my house. On grocery day, a taco kit is a staple in our cart... that is, until this week!! I have been researching homemade taco seasonings for a while, getting familiar with the amounts needed for each spice and which spices are common across the board in every recipe.

Earlier in the week, I got adventurous. I had a little leftover ground beef that I had used for another dish the day before... so I thought, why not? I started mixing spices together and before too long I had a mixture that smelled like a taco! I was so proud of myself- it smelled really good! I heated the ground beef, added my spices, and about 1/4 cup of water. I let it boil and tested it... whoa! It was really yummy... and spicy...really spicy! I was super proud of myself. Since it was just me eating it, I made some rice and added my spiced ground beef to make a nice homemade taco rice. I topped it with cheese when it was on the plate and that was my lunch... it was really good! I surprised myself so much that I neglected to take any photos of this, so I only have pictures of the spices!

So, in the seasoning above we have the following:

Homemade Taco Seasoning (for 1 pound of ground beef and 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water)

1 tbsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

pinch of Cajun seasoning (I found mine in the spice aisle at the local grocery store)

I was very pleased with how this turned out, although it was a bit spicy for me, ha-ha! I made tacos for my husband last night, and altered this recipe a bit more to get it to the perfect taste. I eliminated the Cajun seasoning, added a bit more garlic powder (3/4 tsp instead), and a pinch extra of paprika. He loved it! Personally, I feel that this seasoning mix tastes better than the boxed kit. It is so flavourful and gives you the freedom to add more (or less) of each spice. 

Remember to adjust your salt and pepper to taste. Should you feel you need a little more, season appropriately. Just let your taste buds guide you... and you will end up with a yummy result!

Classic Banana Bread

What's better than a warm banana bread, fresh out of the oven? Few things can compare!! Banana bread is a big hit in my house, it never lasts long...especially a good classic loaf. That is my personal favourite. Today, I am sharing an old family favourite, the classic banana bread recipe. What's best about it is that you can always add some walnuts or chocolate chips to create a whole new recipe (1/2 cup of either, reserve some for the top).

I love this recipe, it's easy and requires ingredients that are easily found in my pantry. For me, hand mixing is the way to go for this one. It's the way I've always done it, and I don't like to mess with a good thing. Sometimes I prefer hand mixing over my mixer, I know it's more work, but it's fun... and relaxing for me. You can use your mixer, I'm sure it will give you the same result.

So, here's the recipe:

Classic Banana Bread

1 cup white sugar
3 bananas, mashed
4 tbsp melted butter (cooled slightly)
1 1/2 cups flour (all purpose)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*F. Melt butter in microwave or on the stove top. Set aside.

In one bowl, mash your bananas until there are few lumps.

Add the sugar and melted butter and mix well then 2  beaten eggs and blend.

In another bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt until well blended. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, mix well. It will be a nice thick, slightly lumpy batter. (See photo below for consistency.)

Pour into a greased and floured loaf pan. 

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes until browned and toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy!!

Fresh out of the oven, this bread will have a crispy top and a moist centre. Once cooled, wrap it in plastic wrap and the entire loaf will become very moist. It's so yummy both ways!