Taco Seasoning Blend for Ground Turkey or Beef

Whenever I make taco salad, I usually will buy Lawry's taco seasoning blend & add a packet of that to ground turkey -  a no brainer. However, a couple days ago, I forgot to buy taco seasoning!! Woe was me! But did I give up or wring my hands in despair? Noooooo. A lesson you learn as a home cook: when all else fails, just make your own damn spice blend. I did just that after sifting through a ton of recipes on the web and distilling everything down to my own preferred selection of spices. In the end, I was pleasantly surprised that taco seasoning is really (ridiculously) easy to make, very flavorful, and is actually less salty than the prepackaged variety. So let's see...tastes good, can't tell the difference in flavor from the supermarket stuff, and is healthy: you can't beat that. 


Ingredients:
1 tbsp. chili powder (I like New Mexico chili powder or Hatch chili powder)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. Mexican oregano
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. sugar


1 cup water
1 tsp. cornstarch


1 lb. ground turkey


1. Blend all spice ingredients & set aside (or store in an airtight container, if not using right away).


2. Brown ground turkey or beef in a non-stick medium skillet (in a tsp. of olive oil or use cooking spray). Add spice blend (all of it) to the browned turkey and cook 1-2 minutes until well-blended and meat is cooked through.


3. Stir together water & cornstarch to make a slurry. Add to ground meat; bring to a boil. Cook for a minute or two, or until the mixture is thickened. 


4. Serve in tacos or on your favorite salad fixings for a Taco Salad.