Easy Ground Beef Tacos with Homemade Crispy Taco Shells Recipe

1 Pound of ground beef

1/4 Cup minced sweet onion

1 Jalapeño (optional for the heat lovers)

2 Tablespoons chili powder

1 Teaspoon brown sugar

1/2 Teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 Teaspoon onion powder

2 Teaspoons cumin

2 Teaspoons salt

1 Teaspoon black pepper

1 Pack flour (not corn) tortillas

1 Bottle Vegetable oil

1 Head iceberg lettuce

2 Garden tomatoes

1 Cup shredded cheese

3/4 Cup sour cream

1 Bottle taco sauce (optional)

In a small bowl, combine the chili powder, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, salt, and black pepper. Stir them until well mixed then taste it with a clean spoon and decide if you want to adjust the ratio of spices to meet your taste requirements.

Mince the onion. Then wearing a glove or using a knife and fork to avoid getting burned, remove the cap, core and seeds from the jalapeño and mince it. Put onion and jalapeño in a bowl and set aside.

Preheat frying pan over medium heat. Add a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add the onion and jalapeño and sauté them for about 1 1/2 minutes. Add burger, break up and stir in with onion and jalapeno and brown. When the meat is browned, you don’t see any pink, stir in the seasoning mix. Brown for another 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently to keep meat from burning.

While the meat browns, rinse off the lettuce and tomato. Shred as much lettuce as you think you’ll need, and dice the tomato.

With a clean spoon, taste the meat and see if you need to add more of any of the spices. Turn the heat down to warm to keep the burger mix warm while you make the crispy taco shells.

Preheat a frying pan over medium heat. Prepare a plate with paper towels on it to drain the fried tortilla taco shell. Add one tablespoon of oil to the pan. Spread it out and place a tortilla in the oil. Coat the tortilla with the oil and toast it. It will puff up some. If the oil begins to splatter or smoke, turn the heat down a little. Medium toast the tortilla so it’s crispy, but not so crispy that it can’t be bent into the classic taco shell shape. This may take a few practice tortillas.

To mold the taco shell. Take it out of the pan. Put it on the paper towel covered plate. Use a fork to create an open space in the middle of the tortilla — this leaves room for the meat and vegetables — and then turn both sides up to create the shell. Drain it upside down on the paper towels.

Fill the taco shell with meat, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, and cheese. Top with your favorite taco sauce.

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