An ode to tacos

I've had an unnatural love affair with tacos my entire life. Always have, always will. But, it wasn't until just recently that I stumbled upon the perfect combination of ingredients for make-at-home, perfect taco-night tacos. Here's the combo:

Ground beef, natch. Cook it up and add your favorite taco seasoning blend. We usually make our own, but I was lazy last night and used a pouch. Our tacos didn't suffer a bit.

Lots and lots of this!! This is extra-sharp cheddar, but I love pepper jack on these tacos, too.

Shredded green leaf lettuce and chopped cilantro. Don't skip the cilantro here. It's a key ingredient!

Okay, I have a little secret to share. This is canned salsa. I know, you're thing G-ROSS, Keri. But, I promise, it is absolutely, 200% A-MAZING! I'm not a jarred salsa fan, but this stuff doesn't taste like jarred salsa at all. It tastes like homemade or restaurant-style with big, fresh chunks. The key is that this has no preservatives. The ingredients are simply tomatoes, peppers, onions, cilantro, and salt- the same ingredients I use when I make salsa! Please try this salsa for me! You won't regret it and it really makes the tacos.

We're getting there. All seasoned up and ready to play.

Now, this is important. For really delicious tacos, you need fresh corn tortillas. We're going to fry them up, baby. Okay, I don't fry tortillas. Popping oil scares me. Sean fries the tortillas in our house. Here's how he does it:

You need a couple of inches of oil in a skillet. Get the oil nice and hot. Sean said he fries the tortillas on medium-high heat.

Use tongs to "shape" the tortillas as you fry them for a few minutes on each side. He said "fry them until they are done." Helpful, huh? Look for a lightly browned shell with some bubbles. Mmmmmhhhh.

Once the tortillas are fried, it's time to stuff the tacos. This is the good part!

Oh yeah, now we're talking. As soon as I took this picture, I gobbled up more tacos than I care to admit.

On the side: corn and black bean salad with a cilantro-lime vinaigrette. Yummy.

And last, but not least, little helpers to help you gobble up the tacos are a must. Hadley LOVES tacos- almost as much as me.

Brynn hasn't tried tacos yet, but I'm betting she will love them, too. Try these tacos-- I promise you won't regret it!