Many people enjoy tacos at restaurants, but far fewer make them at home. It’s really easy.

You don’t need a holiday to make this family and party favorite. But if you haven’t made tacos before, use the upcoming Cinco de Mayo as the occasion.

Tacos require a relatively long list of ingredients, but they’re all easy to gather: chopped beef or diced/shredded chicken, canned black beans and corn, onion, taco seasoning (packaged, or use the recipe below) and an optional jalapeño—remove the white ribs and the seeds unless you like things really hot.

Then, it’s simply into the skillet for these ingredients. When the meat is cooked (20 minutes), set the skillet on the table, buffet style, along with taco shells, chopped lettuce, salsa, shredded cheese and sour cream.

Then, everyone can build his/her own taco.

Tacos can be nutritious food, especially when you:

 
Beans, lettuce, onions and salsa contribute fiber (in addition to nutritients), and corn taco shells are whole grain.

MAKE YOUR OWN TACO SEASONING

McCormick’s Taco Seasoning includes chili pepper, cumin, paprika, oregano, onion, whey, salt, sugar, garlic, potato starch and citric acid.

You can eliminate the whey and sugar by making your own taco seasoning from ingredients you already have on the shelf. And you’ll save money in the process.

ingredients

 
Preparation

1. Combine ingredients in a small bowl.

2. Substitute for a 1.25-ounce package of commercial taco seasoning.