HOMEMADE CRUNCHY BEEF TACOS.

At least once a week I find myself yelling things like, ‘Attention, everyone! Who put a crap-ton of Legos in the garbage disposal!? Why is the dog drinking pee out of the training toilet?! Charley, where are your paaaaaants?!’ Followed with a raucous ‘You know what, don’t even worry about that. What you need to worry about is this question I’m about to ask you… WHO WANTS A TACO?!’

Yup, just call me Lord Business.

Seriously though, there is something to be said for Taco Tuesday. Very few meal options appease everyone in our family like a good old-fashioned classic beef taco. They’re super simple to prepare and the entire family can get in on the action by creating their own well dressed meal of food. And, come on… not many kids would pass up the opportunity to use their hands to construct, and then eat, their dinner.

Now, I’m a self-proclaimed taco connoisseur, so you should trust me when I tell you that these classic crunchy beef tacos are nothing less than legit.

You have my permission to walk straight on past that pre-packaged taco mix, pick yourself up a box of crunchy taco shells and a pound of ground sirloin, then head back home and show your brood what a real Taco Tuesday’s all about.

Even if it’s really Freedom Friday.

Classic Crunchy Beef Tacos

(makes 4 – 6 servings)

• 12 crunchy corn taco shells
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp corn starch
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp coriander
• ¼ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp onion powder
• 1 lb ground beef (for best results use a 90/10% blend of meat/fat)
• ½ cup warm water

To make the taco seasoning, combine the chili powder, cumin, salt, corn starch, paprika, coriander, garlic powder, and onion powder in a small bowl.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Arrange the taco shells in a 9 x 13 baking dish and bake them for 10-12 minutes.

While the shells are warming, brown the ground beef in a large sauté pan over medium high heat until cooked through. Drain any extra fat, then add the ½ cup water and seasoning mix to the beef and stir to combine. Simmer over low heat until the mix has slightly thickened (around 8 – 10 minutes).

Remove the warmed shells from the oven and add a few heaping spoonfuls of seasoned beef to each one. Top with shredded cheese and garnish with your favorite fixin’s (see below for our family favorites).

Garnish with whatever your little heart desires, but we always set up a taco building station complete with:

• Shredded Queso Quesadilla (you can usually find this in the cheese aisle next to ricotta and fresh mozzarella)
• Fresh cubed avocado tossed in lime juice
• Shredded lettuce
• Diced & seeded roma tomato
• Sour cream
• Pickled jalapeños
• Cholula hot sauce

OMFG. SO GOOD.

Jenn is a full-time mom, flex-time advertising industry ninja, full-time food lover in Scottsdale, AZ. When she’s not busy feeding faces, wiping butts or searching for her sanity, you can find her trying to outwit other food bloggers at http://www.omfgsogood.com, on Twitter @OMFGSoGOOD, Facebook, or promoting her husband’s graphic design and fine art business, Trapdoor Studio.