Buffalo-Turkey Tacos for Cinco De Mayo

My feller loves tacos. He likes them crispy (I prefer them soft). He loves beef over any other filling... or so he thought. In an effort to make them a bit more healthy I pulled out the big buffalo and turkey guns! I like to use ground buffalo meat in place of beef. It's healthier for you and has great flavor!

For him, the tacos were served traditional style... all of the ingredients stuffed into the shell.

For me, I made a taco salad with one of the shells broken into bits in one of the layers (as shown above.) I've been working all too hard at the gym to blow it on too many taco shells!!

The meat mix fills 12-16 shells when served as traditional crispy tacos.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1.5 cups onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped

1 lb. ground buffalo

1 lb. ground turkey

Taco seasoning:

2 Tablespoon dried oregano

1-2 Tablespoons chili powder (depending on how spicy your chili powder is)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 Tablespoon cumin

1/2 Tablespoon garlic powder

1/2 Tablespoon freshly grown black pepper

Taco Fixin's:

tortillas (crisp or soft)

lettuce, chopped

tomatoes, diced (I seed large tomatoes)

cilantro, chopped

mixed cheeses of your choice, shredded

sour cream

In a mortar and pestle, grind together all of the ingredients for the taco seasoning. Set aside.

Heat your favorite large frying pan and add the olive oil. Heat over medium-high heat until the oil is hot but not smoking. Add the garlic, stirring, and cook about 45 seconds. Add onions, half of the taco seasoning and cook, stirring often enough to make sure the onions don't brown too much, until they are translucent. Set aside the onions and garlic for later.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

When you add the seasoning to the meats, put the taco shells into the oven to heat through, 3-4 minutes.

In the same frying pan, cook both ground meats, breaking up as they cook. When half cooked, add the remaining taco seasoning. When the meats are cooked, add the onions and garlic and cook long enough to heat through. Taste to see if any additional salt is needed and season to your taste.

Serve tacos as usual or make up a taco salad.

Tip: You can add a can of kidney beans to the half-cooked meat for more protein.