easy homemade tacos recipe
This post was originally published in 2014!
Having a large family to feed means that I need to stretch my meals as much as possible to accommodate my food budget. However, just because I have to feed more people does not mean our meals have to consist of a lack of quality or yumminess. Yummy simple dinners do not need to be expensive or hard to make.
One of my most favorite things to make is easy homemade tacos. I fry my own taco shells and add a few fresh ingredients along with dynamite seasonings paired with a fresh salad and I’ve created one seriously delicious meal. On top of being delicious, homemade tacos cover all of the basic food groups: Protein, Dairy, Vegetables and Grains.
During the summer, when my food budget is even tighter thanks to the rising cost of our electricity and entertainment bill (schools out and I must get out of the house before these kids tear it apart! haha) I find myself shopping at Walmart for everyday groceries even more often than usual. These tacos that I adore so much can easily feed my family of 6 for under $20 and a perfect example of low budget meal. What makes this otherwise regular meal go from ordinary to extraordinary is frying your own taco shells!
How To Fry Your Own Taco Shells
The key to frying your own taco shells is the temperature of your oil. You want your oil to be on a medium high heat. If your oil is too hot then it will cook the corn tortillas too quickly and they will be too crunchy or too tough to eat. If your oil is not hot enough then your corn tortillas will be soggy. You will know your oil is at the right temperature when you place the corn tortilla in the oil and it bubbles.
You want to constantly move your corn tortilla around in the oil.
Fry one side and then the other until slightly stiff.
Then start to bend the tortilla in half. Making sure to leave a space for your meat.
When you see golden brown patches on the tortilla then you know it is done.
Place the fried tortilla on a paper towel and pat dry to remove any excess oil.
I have created a dorky instructional video. It is below (don’t laugh):
After I have taken the time to fry my own taco shells, I like to make sure that the meat I am putting in the tacos is tasty. Therefore, I like to season my taco meat with dynamite seasonings to give them a zesty bite. For these tacos, I seasoned the meat with Kraft Ranch dry seasoning mix. I added the seasoning after the meat was cooked and drained. The Kraft ranch dry seasoning mix gave the meat such a tasty zest that I kinda ate a whole bunch of them before remember to take any pictures of them to show you. Ha!
Since I like to season the taco meat with a zesty Kraft Ranch Dressing seasoning, I keep the rest of the taco stuffing’s flavor to a minimum – just Shredded Cheese and tomatoes for me. And I’m not a fan of lettuce inside my tacos, so I add a fresh side salad topped with my favorite dressing and a few more tomatoes.
What are you having for dinner tonight?
Ok, now I am HUNGRY !
By the by…your video was/is cute !
I LOVE your video – it’s so not dorky. The homemade taco shells are so much fun. I’ll definitely have to try them – along that with that Kraft zesty Italian seasoning. I wouldn’t have thought to use that on my taco meat. I wonder if this would work with flour tortillas, too. #client