Mexican Night!

Its been a little while since I've posted a dinner idea and recipe. Here's one that easy on the wallet, quick to whip up, colourful and tasty!

Its Mexican night in the kitchen....but the music playing is Reggae. Doesn't matter, it makes the mood light and I think the food tastes better when you dance while making it!

Here's what we had:

To make this simple meal for two you will need:

• 1/2 lb pack of ground beef (I used medium, but you can use lean or extra lean)
• 1/2 cup of long grain rice
• 1 tsp of canola oil
• tomato paste
• 1/2 pack of taco seasoning
• chili powder
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cooking onion (or if you like heat, use the whole thing!)
• 1 juicy lime

Buy some flour tortillas or taco shells and all the toppings your heart desires!!

While you soak the rice in some water to remove the starchiness, dice the onion into small pieces. Heat the canola oil in a small pot, put in a dash of salt, a dash of chili powder and 2 teaspoons of the tomato paste. Add 1/3rd of the diced onions and mix until you see the onion softening. Drain the rice and add it to the pot with 1 cup of fresh water. Bring the rice to a boil uncovered. Once it starts to boil, cover the rice and lower the temperature to simmer while you prep the rest of the meal. 

In a frying pan, I used non-stick (read:less mess), heat the rest of the diced onion at medium high heat. Once you hear the onion start to sizzle, add your ground beef and use a spatula to ensure the beef is broken up into small pieces. Cook the beef until you see it all turn a light brown. Lower the heat to medium low and sprinkle the beef with a pinch of salt, a pinch of pepper, a teaspoon of chili powder and half of the taco seasoning packet. Mix together and then add a little water with a teaspoon of tomato paste and continue to combine. Be sure to taste and decide what you need more of. Feel free to experiment and add more seasoning or water to make the consistency what you like.

At this point all of your food is heated and ready. Toss the rice with a spoon to make sure its cooked through and not too moist. I added the juice of half a lime on top of the rice and mixed it together right before I served it. It was so yummy! I decided to boil some corn to add a sweeter side dish to the meal. You can do whatever you like, maybe saute some red and green pepper or onions! Chop up your toppings and then you're all ready to EAT! Muy Rico!

Here's the dishes up close and my taco-salad-on-a-plate creation:

Have fun creating your very own fiesta! Muy Bien!