TACO WAGON TACOS

I know I know I know you were probably expecting me to post how to make mashed potatoes or stuffing or turkey or pumpkin pie or something that had something to do with thanksgiving, but to be honest I have never made a thanksgiving meal before. My mom always did it or my grandma or an aunt or you know the list goes on and on and on. So i still have yet to master how to do all of those great thanksgiving traditions, so until then this is a non thanksgiving meal (although i am very grateful for it!) 

I started eating steak tacos at the various taco trucks in my home town during high school. It was usually two tacos and some great soda in a glass bottle. Then my dad discovered how much he loved them and the fact that with our family it was a lot cheaper to try and replicate them at home, so he set off to make a replica of what we called "taco wagon tacos." We would eat them usually on sundays, he would make a huge pan of meat and we would have radishes, white onions, green salsa and red, I can't remember if we used cabbage or not and little corn tortillas. Needless to say they were delicious. I think one sunday i downed about twelve or so. (i know not very good for your health, i have since changed my ways...thank goodness.)

When i moved out i experimented on my own to make my own recipe that was similar, but a little different and this is what we came up with. I hope you enjoy! 

1. SLICE STEAK IN VERY SMALL CHUNKS

This is carne asada and  to be honest i don't know exactly what the other half is, i just took it out of the freezer. I think it was a sirloin, but not certain. Carne Asada is great because it is already sliced very thin, so you can cut in into smaller chunks. This is a little more than 2 cups of chopped steak and would probably serve 4 people.

2. SEASON THE MEAT

I used 1 1/2 tsp salt, 1 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/8 tsp black pepper, and 1/4 tsp cumin.

3. MIX SEASONING INTO MEAT

I use my hand to evenly coat meat with seasoning and then let it set while i prepare other ingredients.

4. SAUTE ONION AND GARLIC

Saute a small white onion with 1/2 Tbsp minced Garlic in a small amount of oil. (i use between med and med-high heat. If it seems to be cooking to fast, use med.)

 5. ADD MEAT

Once the onion is done cooking and beginning to brown, add the meat to the onion garlic mixture and cook until beginning to brown.

 6. ADD LIME JUICE

When meat is about halfway done cooking add the juice of 1 lime. 

7. FINISH COOKING

This meat cooks very quickly and you do not want to over cook it, so once you stop seeing pink spots on the outside of the meat chunks it is done. It will continue cooking once you take it off the heat, so once the outsides are all brown remove the meat from the heat and it will be nice and tender.

8. FINELY CHOP CABBAGE

You can use green or red, i had green and like the color contrast with the red onion.

9. DICE RED ONION

This is just to add on top, so chop however much you think you will eat. You can also use a large white or yellow onion and use half to saute and half raw. I think the red is pretty.

 10. HEAT TORTILLAS ON STOVE

I use a nonstick pan and no oil. Heat on one side, flip and continue warming.

 11. ASSEMBLE TACOS

This is where you can use your own creativity, I like cabbage and onions, I also usually put a little sour cream. You can use additional lime juice, radishes, red salsa or green salsa. There are endless possibilities. They are quick and they are DELICIOUS! ENJOY!

TACO WAGON TACOS

SERVES 4

  STEAK OF YOUR CHOICE (carne asada works great about 2 cups chopped)

1 1/2 tsp SALT

1 1/2 tsp CHILI POWDER

1/2 tsp PAPRIKA

1/8 tsp PEPPER

 

1/4 tsp CUMIN

1 SMALL WHITE OR YELLOW ONION

 

1/2 Tbsp MINCED GARLIC

CHOPPED CABBAGE

 CHOPPED RED ONION

 

CORN TORTILLAS

 

1 LIME

Chop steak into small chunks, season with salt, pepper, chili powder, paprika, and cumin. Set aside. Chop white onion and saute with garlic on medium heat. When beginning to brown, add meat. Heat half way and add juice of lime. Finish cooking just until no longer pink on the outside. Remove from heat. Do not overcook! Finely chop cabbage and red onion. Heat tortillas on the stove, assemble tacos. Layer meat, cabbage and onions. You can add more lime, sour cream, salsa, radishes. The possiblities are endless. Have fun, experiment and let me know what you come up with!