Taco Time!!

In honour of Cinco de Mayo, and really because we just love eating tacos, here is our tried and true recipe. This is the same recipe my Mum used to make when I was growing up, and they have become a staple for us now too! Whenever I ask Jerome if there's anything in particular he wants for dinner in a given week, Tacos and mexican lasagna are always his answers. Mexican lasagna will have to wait for a less hot day though!

It all starts with the secret home mixed taco seasoning. I think my Mum used to make double batches so that she didn't have to mix it up too often. I have to make octuple batches! We use it for fajitas and random other recipes too. If my I can get my Mum to agree I'll post the recipe in a separate post.

 Here's the seasoning. 

You cut up half and onion or so and fry it with some lean ground beef until cooked.

Then you add the seasoning and a bit of water, mix until it's all coated. 

Simmer until some of the water evaporates and it's at the desired juicyness level.

I  like to use hard shells for my tacos since I've found these extra wide

stand-and-stuff ones from old el paso that don't split across the bottom 

on your first bite and make all your filling fall out.

Jerome prefers the tortilla approach, I think because that way he can

pour in more salsa and hot sauce without it leaking out!

Meatloaf: A Choose your own Cooking Adventure

Back in January, we received our latest issue of Fine Cooking Magazine, and on the cover was a great picture (as always) of a tasty looking meatloaf. Jerome snapped it up and read the article which was for a choose your own ingredient meatloaf recipe which gave suggestions for various combinations of meats, spices, vegetables, and a general structure for making great meatloaf. This seemed fun, so we got cooking that weekend as we had some guests coming for dinner. We opted for a southwest style meatloaf with a chipotle glaze. A variation on this recipe they had given as a suggestion

 Jerome wearing one of the chefs hats we got for Christmas to make sure I knew he was head chef and I was just the sous chef. 

 For our meat selection we chose beef. The Sirloin steak we got was on sale and actually cheaper than buying ground beef, who knew! 

 We began with the meat. And just to add to the fun, we decided to try out the meat grinding attachment for our KitchenAid Stand Mixer which we had yet to try. 

 We ground the beef once and then added chorizo to it and ground it a second time. 

 The vegetables cut and waiting to be added: onion, green pepper, jalepenos. 

 We also got a digital scale for Christmas and used it to ensure we had exactly 4 ounces of bread. 

 The vegetables then got cooked and the milk soaked bread was added.

 Then the meat, and cheese were combined while trying to keep as much air into the mixture as possible. 

 The suggestions for forming the loaf said that you should actually try and pack it as loosely as possible so that it stays light and fluffy which made it turn out really nicely. The chipotle glaze was then applied. 

The final loaf when cooked. Delicious!

It was so good, that the next day we tried it again, but with meatballs and using a different set of spices and veggies.