How to Make Beef Tacos

Beef taco dinner

By now you probably know that I love tacos.  They are easy to make.  They are easy to eat.  They are easy to serve to the family.  You can add extras or leave out ingredients to your tacos.  Today, I want to show how I make our tacos.

Ground beef we sometimes use

Browned ground beef

First, we brown the ground beef.  We use a bean smasher to break up the big pieces.  That's just something I came up with.

Spices added to browned beef

Delicious taco meat

You can use taco seasoning from a package, either from the Old El Paso package (pictured below) or you can add your own spices of: cumin, black pepper, and onion salt.  Also, to stretch the meat, you can add half a can of diced tomatoes.

Once you have your taco meat going, you can decide what your meat will go into.  You can use the taco shells like the ones below or use softened corn tortillas.  You could even use flour tortillas, but I don't use those too much because they are fattening and hard to digest.  Also, flour tortillas are not friends to diabetics.

Old El Paso Taco Dinner Kit

If you will be using taco shells, preheat oven at recommended setting.  Then, find some cookie sheets and cover with aluminum foil.  Aluminum foil is perfect to cover those old, ugly cookie sheets.  Also, the heat will warm the shells more efficiently.

Cookie sheet for taco shells

Taco shell on wrapped cookie sheet

Make sure to time these taco shells!  You don't want burnt shells.

If you want to make soft beef tacos, then you can use some corn tortillas and lightly fry them with coconut or olive oil.  I personally like olive oil.  You can use two spatulas to slowly flip the tortillas.  You don't want to splash the oil and cause a grease fire.

Simple ingredients for softening corn tortillas

Olive oil in pan ready for corn tortillas

Let olive oil warm up.  Heat does not have to be super high.  I usually like mine at about a 4 out of 10.

Old plate used to catch the softened corn tortillas

Plate covered with paper towels

Cover the plate with paper towels.  The paper towels will catch the extra oil.  Just place your softened corn tortillas (like those I've used in my Easy Cheese Enchilada Casserole) over the paper towels.  

Now, you are ready to add your meat to make whichever taco.  You can sprinkle: cheese; your choice of greens, like lettuce or spinach; tomatoes; avocado; and sour cream.  For sides, you can have beans and Mexican rice (or fideo, also known as vermicelli; elbows; and shells).

Well, thanks for reading about how to make beef tacos.  I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it up.

 

What about you, my readers? Do you like beef tacos? What would you add or subtract from beef tacos?  Tacos are versatile.  They are truly delicious.  My family love beef tacos.

May God bless you with His peace and wisdom, my beloveds.

This has been an entry for Saturday Spreads. I hope you enjoyed it!

How to Make Mexican-Style Fideo (Vermicelli)

Fideo is a delicious leftover.

I loved my mother's Fideo!

My oldest child recently told me he loves Fideo (vermicelli).  I love to hear this because it encourages me to cook.  It also lets me know exactly what he is willing to eat.  After all, how does a mother get to her child's heart, except through his stomach?  I decided to take it one step further.

I decided to blog about how to make Fideo so he can have this as a guideline when he spreads his wings in the cooking arena.  Hint, hint: I want my son to make Fideo for me someday.

These are the ingredients for Mexican-style Fideo.

Ingredients for the Mexican-style Fideo are:

--1 box of Vermicelli (Fideo)
--2 tablespoons of Olive oil
--1/2 a small can of Tomato sauce
--1 teaspoon of Garlic
--1 tablespoon of Onions
--1 teaspoon of Cumin
--a few dashes of Black pepper
--1 teaspoon of Sea salt
--3 cups of water

Optional ingredients:

--1/2 of a can of Diced tomatoes
--1 tablespoon of Green bell pepper

This is a closeup of the main ingredient--Vermicelli.

These are optional ingredients for making Fideo.

Oil is poured into pan.

First, swish the olive oil inside the pan.  Make sure the sides get some of the oil.  Then, wait until the pan is warm enough before adding the Vermicelli.

Fideo is ready to be saturated with oil.

The next step is to push the Fideo around, making sure all of it gets soaked with the olive oil.  Keep at it because the temperature will get hotter, causing the bottom Fideo to burn.  It's important to push up the browned Fideo to the top, allowing the white fideo to fry.  Don't be afraid to turn down the pilot so your Fideo won't burn.

Fideo is browned.

Now, the Fideo is ready for two cups of water.  I used to take the pan to the sink to fill it up.  I no longer do that because of safety.  Arthritis sometimes affects my strength to carry a heavy pan.  Also, the splashing and possibility of the pan falling on someone is too dangerous.  

I grab a measuring cup full of water and pour into the pan, very slowly.  The oil sometimes splashes up.  I must mention that I turn the burner off before pouring the water.  Don't want to start a grease fire!

The rest of the ingredients are added.

After the water is added, all of the other ingredients are poured into the Fideo.  The onions and garlic (and bell pepper), whether in powder, fresh, or freezed form, is tossed in.   Fresh diced tomatoes can be added, but I mostly use canned diced tomatoes (which I ran out of but later bought to add to the leftover Fideo).  Cumin (comino) can come in powdered or seed form, but I used the powdered version this time.  I have also been using sea salt instead of the iodized form.

Fideo is covered.

Once the ingredients are mixed with a spoon, allow the Fideo to boil.  Then, reduce the temperature and cover.  Having it covered will let the Fideo cook evenly and more quickly.  You can time the Fideo at about 7 minutes to simmer.

Slowly, the water will cause the Fideo to increase in size.

Never stir any pasta or rice without adding water.  The stuck food will be hard to stir and stay stuck to the pan.

Uncover after the 7 minutes.  You will notice that the water seems to have evaporated.  Do not stir at this point.  Pour about a cup of water and then stir.  Cover again and cook for about another 5 minutes.  At the end, the Fideo should be soft.  Don't worry if it needs a little more water or more time to cook.  It's all about finding the rhythm of cooking Fideo.

Well, thanks for reading about how to make Mexican-style Fideo (Vermicelli).  

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it up.

 

What about you, my readers? Have you ever eaten Fideo? What would you add or subtract from it? Would you add meat? I hope you will try some Fideo, if you haven't.  It is truly delicious.  My kids love it.

May God bless you with His peace and wisdom, my beloveds.

This has been an entry for Saturday Spreads. I hope you enjoyed it!