Taco Night Tacos

Recipe adapted from Deals to Meals

I love taco night!  It is simple, quick and always tastes yummy.  I used to use the packaged taco seasoning... until I became aware of all the unhealthy stuff that is put into those seasoning packets and realized when you make your own, your taste buds, tummy and overall health love you for it!  

1 lb. lean ground beef 

(*I used 1/2 lb. ground beef and 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa for these tacos  and my husband said they still tasted great!  Score!  I cooked the quinoa in beef broth to give it a little more flavor)

1 small to medium onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

1 Tbsp brown sugar

Taco Seasoning:

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp cumin

dash of cayenne pepper

dash pepper

Brown the ground beef and drain off grease. Add onions and garlic and continue to cook until onions are starting to appear translucent.  Stir in tomato sauce and taco seasoning ingredients. Simmer 10 minutes and then serve.  We love the uncooked tortillas you can buy at Costco at our house, but this goes great in soft shell, hard shell, over tortilla chips, whatever floats your boat!

You can make the taco seasoning in a bigger batch and then store to use in the future. If you do this, just add about 1 1/2-2 tsp to your ground beef.

If you decide to use quinoa, bring 1/2 c quinoa and 1 c broth or water to boil in medium saucepan. Boil for about 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork.

Sloppy Joes

                                                            Recipe from melskitchencafe.com
*Makes 8-12 Sloppy Joes

2 Tbsp canola oil
2 onions, roughly chopped
2 1/2 lbs ground beef (preferably 93% lean  or greater)
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2/3 c smoky BBQ sauce (or whatever BBQ sauce is in your fridge)
1/2 c ketchup
1/4 c Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c soy sauce
Freshly ground black pepper (I just did a dash of black pepper)
8-12 rolls

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onions and cook, stirring, until they start to turn translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the beef and cook, stirring and breaking up the meat, until it is finely crumbled, the liquid boils off and the meat begins to brown, about 10 minutes. Drain the grease off the meat and onions.  Stir in the tomato paste, and keep stirring until the meat is coated. Add the BBQ sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and pepper, and bring to a boil. Cook until the sauce is slightly thickened, 4-5 minutes.  You can make the sloppy joe meat up to 2 days in advance and reheat it over low heat or in the microwave.

Wrap the rolls in aluminum foil and warm in the oven for about 10 minutes.  Serve the sloppy joes hot with the warmed rolls.

*Freezable Meal:  The leftover sloppy joe meat can be frozen. Store it in a freezer-safe container and then thaw in the refrigerator prior to serving.  Reheat on medium-low in a saucepan on the stove.

*Note:  When I made these, I wanted to cut down on the meat, so I did a pound of lean ground beef and cooked 1 c of quinoa and added it at the very end.  My husband said he couldn't even tell there was quinoa in it by taste, although it does look a little bit different. See if you can tell from the picture! I also only used about 1/8 c soy sauce. I used Mel's recipe for French Bread Rolls for this recipe and they were delicious.