We eat these quite a bit – in tortillas or on nachos. If you had the forethought to thaw your hamburger this recipe is done in less than twenty minutes, making it a great choice for a busy weeknight dinner. You could also use leftover roast chicken and have it on the table even sooner. Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped finely
3 medium cloves chopped garlic
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 pound organic, grass fed ground beef
1 8 ounce can of organic tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 Tablespoon Rockridge Orchards apple cider vinegar
Technique:
In a skillet, brown onion in oil about 4 minutes until just beginning to soften. Add garlic, spices, salt and ground beef. Cook, breaking up meat until just beginning to brown. Add tomato sauce, sugar and vinegar. Simmer five to ten minutes until meat is done and flavors are melded.
7 responses so far ↓
1 Dark Days Week 10 // Jan 25, 2010 at 3:56 am
[...] Tacos made with our Cascade Range Beef, freezer corn and a small can of 2009 tomato sauce from the pantry. I just have a few jars of home made tomato sauce left so I’m saving them for spaghetti where the flavor is really important. Sadly, I have a great many jars of homemade ketsup that would have been perfect for this (and I made them for this) but I simmered it too long with the spices so now it’s all cinnamon and cloves and not at all something that I can use in many recipes. Next year I’ll know better. No spices until it’s done. [...]
2 kitsapFG // Jan 25, 2010 at 10:06 am
Very similar recipe to our standard taco meat mixture except I do not add the cider or sugar. Tacos and burritos are one of several regular workday evening standard menu items. They are fast, tasty, and clean up is quick too.
3 admin // Jan 25, 2010 at 5:20 pm
KFG you need to post more recipes so I can try them.
4 Barbara Hunter // Jan 26, 2010 at 8:31 am
I have started making homemade taco seasoning, but never thought about adding vinegar…I will try it when I make tacos later this week!
5 admin // Jan 30, 2010 at 7:48 pm
Hi Barbara, I never would have thought to try it myself but now I have started cooking with real apple cider vinegar from Rockridge Orchards it’s amazing how it rounds out nearly any flavor profile. I even added a splash to my pumpkin pie! And certainly anything with tomatoes would benefit from some too. If you are using the store bought stuff though use just a small amount.
6 Myrnie // Jan 31, 2010 at 5:01 pm
Hi- I love your site! A commenter recommended it to me. We’re going on a very similar journey to your family- I just started a brand new blog to chronicle what we’ve been doing
7 admin // Jan 31, 2010 at 11:40 pm
Hi Myrnie – good luck with your journey! I just spent the afternoon working the soil and dreaming of spring. Last night I had made a planting map for the beds and spent quite a bit of time discussing it with the kids. They are so excited this second time around! My 6 yo especially loves to give tours of “our food” and sell things up and down the block for toy money. We had to have a discussion about the strawberries and peas last year. This year I’m just planning 4 kinds of peas because I want him to be excited about it and for him that means sharing with others.
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