growing up my mom use to make our own home spun tacos. you know the kind... with ground beef and shallow fried corn tortillas. of course with all the usual fixings: cheese, tomatoes, iceburg lettuce, etc.-- topping it all off was our family's liquid gold... PiCO PiCA hot sauce. in our house a meal wasn't a meal without this gem.
these days i don't eat much beef or fried food... so this is my lighter fresher version of one of my all time favorite meals. it’s great for kids and a crowd pleaser. everyone get’s to participate in creating their own masterpiece!
SPEEDY TURKEY TACOS
super speedy fresh tacos for all!
FiX: 15 minutes
HEAT: 15-20 minutes
SPENT: 25-30 minutes total
MEAT FiXiNGS:
1 package GROUND TURKEY
1 tablespoon of GROUND CUMiN
1 tablespoon of MiNCE GARLiC (3-4 cloves)
2 tablespoon of your favorite FRESH SALSA or HOT SAUCE
1 cup of chunked fresh PiNEAPPLE (in a pinch can will do)
1/2 finely chopped white ONiON (red okay too)
1 can of no sodium DiCED TOMATOES
1 can of no sodium BLACK BEANS
1 can or cup of frozen CORN
CRACKED BLACK PEPPER
CORN TORTiLLAS
1 LiME
COOL TOPPiNGS:
1/2 head of LETTUCE (crunchy ICEBERG* is perfect)
2 diced TOMATOES (my favorite are the purples ones)
1 bushel of fresh CiLANTRO (if you have access)
1 cup of finely grated SHARP CHEDDAR CHEESE
1 finely chopped bunch of GREEN ONIONS
1 small tub of SOUR CREAM
2 AVOCADOS
2 LiMES
*for super crunch i often use fresh (green or purple) CABBAGE
TACKLE:
large saute pan
big wooden spoon
can opener
chef's knife
chop board
small bowls for the toppers (pudding size is good)
GO:
drop a package of GROUND TURKEY into a large saute pan on high heat. let the slab of ground turkey sear on one side. while the bottom side is searing... on top drop on a tablespoon of MINCED GARLIC. give a god squeeze of 1/5 of LiME. add a couple of hefty pinches of GROUND CUMiN and a 5 second round of CRACKED BLACK PEPPER. the searing should take about 5 minutes. while it's finishing up... finely chop and drop half an ONION in. turn heat to low, flip and fold all the ingredients into the meat. pour in a can of no sodium CHOPPED STEWED TOMATOES. drain goos and drop in the can of no sodium BLACK BEANS. put in a tablespoon of your favorite SALSA or HOT SAUCE. we like it hot, so we always usually double the dose. stir again. let cook on low heat for about 5 minutes.
finally drop in a can of CORN or a cup of frozen. i put in the corn at the very end, so it stays fresh and crunchy. PLUS... drop in the fresh PiNEAPPLE chunks and toss. turn on extra low. cover.
WHiLE...the filling is melding all the flavors together, time to get the cool toppings prepped. dice up your TOMATOES, GREEN ONiONS and lettuce of your choice. for us it's all about the crunch, so we usually use ICEBERG or CABBAGE. roughly chop of the fresh CiLANTRO. grab some finely grated SHARP CHEDDAR CHEESE, a tub of SOUR CREAM and your favorite SALSA or HOT SAUCE. in our house we drop in a bit of each -- topping off with our favorite PiCO PiCA. for information on this killer hot sauce: CLiCK HERE!
super treat... if you have access to good AVOCADOS that don't cost and arm and a leg. slice one of them up and douse with LiME so it stays fresh and not all rotten looking by the time you serve.
ASSEMBLAGE:
we're not into frying -- so if you have a gas stove your super set! if you're on an electric... you're screwed! no no you just have to warm them up in a skillet.
drop the CORN TORTiLLAS on a low flame for about 20 seconds or so each side. basically till nice and toasty. i like mine extra toasty with patches of tasty burnt tortilla. you can keep them warm under a clean towel.
for each tortilla drop on a spoonful of your MEAT FiLLiNG, a handful of: grated SHARP CHEDDAR CHEESE, GREEN ONiON and LETTUCE. if you have access to fresh AVOCADOS, a slice or two for each taco is perfect. finally top off with fresh diced TOMATOES, a dopple of fresh SOUR CREAM, a hefty pinch of fresh chopped CiLANTRO and a touch of SALSA or HOT SAUCE to taste. serve with a wedge of LiME. wow now that's super-tasty!
BLiNG:
this dish is great buffet style. let people build and add what they want. i usually put all the cool fixings in little glass bowls. i picked up a couple of sets of pudding bowls at the super market for under $10 dollars... they work great for just about everything and really make this spread rockin'.
FEEDS:
with 1 package of ground turkey, this dish can make 2-3 tacos for four.
SPECIAL NOTE: this meat filling works great for tasty hearty BURRiTOS and CHiLI MAC!