My Own Taco Seasoning Blend & The 3 R's

 

It's no lie when I say that I am obsessed with tacos. They are my vice (hey, everyone needs one...or three). Okay, so tacos are one of my addictions, second only to chickpeas. But, you get the point. They're high up on my list of things I must consume often. What I am getting at is that I use a lot of taco seasonings, so I figured I would hook you up with a simple recipe to make some to have on-hand and ready to use whenever the taco craving strikes. Which, for me, happens to be several times a month.

Anywhoooo....
I decided a couple years ago to give up the packaged taco seasoning blends because they had only a few spices along with a ton of other ingredients I didn't need or want, like MSG (monosodium glutamate), silicon dioxide, and ethoxyquin (a preservative and pesticide). So, for a while now, I have just randomly been throwing spices into my tacos as they cook, not necessarily measuring anything, and tasting as I went along with the cooking. Today, however, I decided to make a large-ish batch of a spice blend to see how it works. And, it is rockin. Obviously, not everyone has the same tastes, so you may hate my mix. Whatever. I decided to post my spice mix so you could make your own decision about it. I will warn you that it is kind of spicy. Depending on how much you are cooking at a time, you will only need about 1 TB of the mix for a small to medium batch

Meg's Taco Seasoning Blend: Makes about 4-5 ounces

• 4 TB chili powder
• 5 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp kosher or other large-grain salt
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp chipotle powder (optional for extra heat)

And, now, I would like to get on my tree-hugger hippie soapbox for a moment. I like to re-use packaging, especially jars, whenever I can. Sure, I could've recycled that small glass relish jar, but I knew that one day, I'd find a use for it. It is the perfect size to still fit into your spice cubby without becoming too burdensome. Though, to be fair, mine will never make it to the cubby, it'll be on the counter with all of my most-used spices. I like the glass jars because they usually have a nice, tight-fitting lid to keep air out and spices in. A loose-fitting lid just won't do as your spices will lose their potency and fragrance.

Plus, by re-using your own jar, you save energy that would go into creating a new jar or energy that would would go into recycling the existing jar. Don't we all remember the song about The 3 R's? Reduce-Reuse-Recycle...come on, I know you know what I'm talking about. The goal is to basically keep things out of the landfills. It's quite a simple concept. And, as the month of April is host to Earth Day, I've decided to add some earth-friendly posts and tips to my blog. If you have any ideas to share, let me know by emailing me: TheSnarkyChickpea at Gmail dot com.

The 3 R's in order of action, for those who are a little rusty:

• Reduce consumption (of packaged items, especially anything plastic)
• Reuse existing items and then,
• Recycle items we can't re-use