Taco Night & Apple Pear Crisp

Tonight for dinner the hubs wanted tacos.  He bought ground beef, shells and taco seasoning.  Nothing was being left to chance - no lentils that 'look' like taco meat and no home made taco seasoning.  He wanted as many mystery unpronounceable ingredients as he could get. :)


So tacos it was...

For the hub's ground beef I just followed the package directions.  Nothing fancy.  Brown the meat, add some water & seasoning mix and you're done.

For me, I decided to make up some "lentil meat":

Into a sauce pan went - 

1/4 C lentils

1/2 C water

spoonful of tomato paste

At-home Taco Seasoning:  garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, chili powder, & paprika - to taste.  (I'm sure you can find an actual recipe on-line but I just grab the spices and start dashing away)

Bring to a boil.   Then let simmer until done.  I had to add a little water a few times to keep it from becoming too dry so keep an eye on it.

Once it's done cooking I use a potato masher to squish it a bit and get a nice meaty look.  It won't fool the hubs but a more adventurous eater would really enjoy it!

My favorite part of tacos though is always the toppings.  So colorful!!

Chopped hot pepper (home grown by the in-laws), chopped avacado, lime, cheese, salsa (yes that jar was FULL at one point), tomatoes (home grown), lettuce, and finally chopped bell peppers.

You're jealous of my fancy taco holder aren't you?

And then came dessert.  I LOVE dessert.  I know some people who feel dessert is a special occasion treat.  

I think finishing a well rounded meal qualifies as a special occasion. :)

Apple Pear Crisp

Crisp is one of my go-to desserts.  Its so easy and is always a hit. :)

This time I had some pears I wanted to use so instead of my standard Apple Crisp I changed things up a bit.

I chopped 2 pears & one Fugi apple (the 2nd apple in the picture was past ripe and I chose not to use it) & put them into an oven safe dish.

Then I made the crisp:

3/4 C oat meal

1/4 C whole wheat flour

1/8 C milled flax seed

1/3 C Organic Sucant (I use this as a brown sugar substitute)

Cinn. & Nutmeg

1/3 C butter

Mix the dry then add the butter.

Spread the "Crisp" on top of your chopped fruit and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

And the best part of a crisp is that the left overs make an excellent breakfast!!