Ingredients:
1 lb 90% lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chicken or beef stock
14 oz canned diced tomatoes, drained
1 1/2 teaspoons Hot New Mexican chile powder
1 1/2 teaspoon hot paprika
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dehydrated minced onion
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt
freshly ground black pepper

suggested toppings:
diced tomatoes
diced avocado
shredded iceberg lettuce
salsa
hot sauce
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream

Directions:
Brown the meat in a large nonstick skillet. Drain any excess fat. Add the onion and cook until onion is soft. Add all of the spices, tomatoes and stock. Bring to boil and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 15 minutes. Serve on hard or soft taco shells. Top with goodness.

My thoughts:

This is how I remember eating tacos as a kid. Okay, if I wanted to be totally truthful, we normally use a packet mix and hard shell tacos but it didn’t make sense to buy a packet when I had all of these spices at home and I can use the leftover flour tortillas for other things. I also probably wouldn’t have avocado because it was never in the grocery stores when I was a kid. I don’t think I had one until I was in college even. Now we can find pretty much anything! But back then, even the big stores were pretty limited produce-wise. But I digress. On the eve of what I think will be my busiest travel month ever (I am only home 12 days this month! I will be in California, Tennessee, Minnesota, Western Maryland and Maine for trips) I kind of wanted something comforting. I don’t think I’ve had a ground beef taco for about 6 years or so. I kind of missed them. So if you want a recipe for homemade totally Americanized tacos, this is it. Resist the urge to gussy it up and use authentic Mexican cheese etc. Remember elementary school. But better.

Note: You can leave out the canned tomatoes but it does add flavor and helps stretch out the meat a bit.