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Make Tonight Taco Night!
Categories: Mealtime
Welcome to Dishing it Out, ParentDish's weekly food column. Katie Workman lives in New York City with her husband and two boys, Jack and Charlie. By day she is the Editor-in Chief of the recipe website Cookstr.com. You can read all of the Dishing it Out posts here.
Taco night is a big deal in our house. There's even a song to herald taco night, that goes something like this: "Taco Night! Taco Night! Everybody ready for taco night?"
Catchy, no?
Everyone in the family loves tacos, and there is something very nice about a hand-on, interactive meal. And tacos are festive. We go with ground turkey or chicken, instead of beef (I'm the "almost vegetarian" in the family), but you choose. I have certainly been known to reach for a package taco seasoning blend at times, but with an extra few minutes I can make a homemade seasoning blend that tastes even better, and the sodium isn't through the roof. Just add a big salad, or some steamed broccoli or cauliflower, or a bowl of baby carrots, and you've got dinner.
Turkey Tacos
1 pound ground turkey (try to find a blend of white and dark meat, if possible - it's juicier)
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
pinch cayenne (optional)
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
salt to taste
taco shells (about 12)
To serve (choose your family's favorites):
shredded lettuce
salsa
shredded cheese, such as cheddar, Monterey Jack, or a blend
sour cream (low fat or regular)
diced tomatoes
diced avaocados
Preheat the oven - or your toaster oven - to 350 degrees.
Spray a large skillet with nonstick spray, and place over medium high heat. Add the turkey, and cook, stirring, until it is browned throughout, about 4-5 minutes. Drain off any liquid. Add the chili powder, cumin, cayenne (if using), garlic and salt. Stir over the heat for 1 more minute so that all of the spices and garlic release their flavors. Add 1/2 cup of water, and stir until the water is mostly evaporated, and everything is sell combined.
Meanwhile, heat the taco shells in the oven for 5 minutes until warm and toasty. Serve the meat in a bowl, the shells on a plate covered with a napkin to keep them warm, and all of the toppings on the side, and let everyone help themselves!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Miss M 12-03-2008 @ 12:39AM
"We go with ground turkey or chicken, instead of beef (I'm the "almost vegetarian" in the family),"
If you eat meat, you're not an "almost vegetarian."
Reply
Pavlina 12-03-2008 @ 10:21AM
How is ground chicken or turkey almost vegetarian? You can say you're re not contributing to the over-all methane production by cutting back on your beef consumption but it is just silly to say you're almost vegetarian because you eat only chicken and turkey.
Becca 12-03-2008 @ 5:22PM
She's "almost vegetarian" because she eats chicken or turkey rather than pork or beef. If she didn't eat meat at all she would BE a vegetarian, not almost a vegetarian. I'm sure the label was put on her by her family who don't really understand her choices.
Katie, the tacos sound good. I'll have to try them some day. MY family is no where near Vegetarian, in fact my Husband claims to be a carnivore and only eats vegetables in order to make sure our son eats some vegetables too. So I'll probably mix the ground turkey with hamburger, to lower the fat and make them a little bit healthier. LOL Thanks for the recipe.
Miss M 12-03-2008 @ 7:33PM
"She's "almost vegetarian" because she eats chicken or turkey rather than pork or beef."
Sorry, Becca, it doesn't work that way. Meat from an animal is meat from an animal any way you spin it.
Katie Workman 12-03-2008 @ 10:24PM
Hi! I am very glad to get your thoughts, and it's interesting how this topic is so important to so many people. I was a cookbook editor for many years, and published a book called ALMOST VEGETARIAN for people who ate vegetarian most of the time, and chicken and fish some of the time, about 16 years ago. This is the best way I knew to describe those of us who didn't eat red meat - for whatever reasons - and it's the way I've been eating for most of my life.
I respect everyone's choices and think there are a lot of reasons for making decisions about what we eat. Look forward to hearing what you all think about what you and your kids call dinner. Let me know what you're thinking about - organic? local? cheese whiz? veal? ortolons?
Reply
Katie Workman 12-03-2008 @ 9:54PM
Hi! I am very glad to get your thoughts, and it's interesting how this topic is so important to so many people. I was a cookbook editor for many years, and published a book called ALMOST VEGETARIAN for people who ate vegetarian most of the time, and chicken and fish some of the time, about 16 years ago. This is the best way I knew to describe those of us who didn't eat red meat - for whatever reasons - and it's the way I've been eating for most of my life.
I respect everyone's choices and think there are a lot of reasons for making decisions about what we eat. Look forward to hearing what you all think about what you and your kids call dinner. Let me know what you're thinking about - organic? local? cheese whiz? veal? ortolons?
Reply