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!