How To Make Taco’s

Everything you need to know to have a successful taco night at home! I’ll cover how to cook the ground beef and all the sides and condiments you’ll need.

How To Make Taco’s

Everything you need to know to have a successful taco night at home! I'll cover how to cook the ground beef and all the sides and condiments you'll need.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 8

Ingredients
  

  • 2 LB Ground Beef
  • 2 TBS Olive Oil for cooking the ground beef
  • 2 1.25 oz. Packets Taco Seasoning Mix 40% less sodium
  • 2 Boxes Taco Shells
  • 1 Large Tomato
  • 1 Romaine Lettuce
  • 1 8oz. Block Sharp Cheddar Cheese shredded
  • 1 16oz. Mild Taco Sauce optional, to top
  • 1 16oz. Container Sour Cream optional, to top

Instructions
 

  • Do all the prep work first. Wash and chop up the Romain lettuce, set aside in a plate. Wash and finely chop up the tomato, set aside in a plate. Shred the block of Cheddar Cheese, set aside in a plate.
  • In a large saucepan on med-high heat add 2 TBS olive oil. When the oil heats up, add the ground beef, break it into pieces using a spatula.
  • Add the packets of taco seasoning. You need 1 packet of seasoning for 1 pound of ground beef. I use a 40% less sodium brand because I don’t like my ground beef too salty. Mix thoroughly and cook until the ground beef has browned and is completely cooked through, about 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile bake the taco shells on 350 degrees in the oven for 5-7 mins until hot and crisp (be careful not to burn them).
  • Set up a “taco station” on the table with all the toppings in plates, the ground beef, taco shells, taco sauce, and sour cream. Everyone can build their own perfect taco!
Keyword 30 minutes, easy, Mexican

The Best Home Made Salsa

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This authentic Mexican restaurant style Salsa is dangerously delicious! Try this super easy homemade Salsa and you will never go back to store bought Salsa again! Great appetizer for Mexican or taco night or a side sauce for Mexican dishes. It’s my favorite dish to bring to game nights or a cook out and the dish that is always requested.

The Best Homemade Salsa

sofiyababinov
This authentic Mexican restaurant style Salsa is dangerously delicious! Try this super easy homemade Salsa and you will never go back to store bought Salsa again! Great appetizer for Mexican or taco night or a side sauce for Mexican dishes. It's my favorite dish to bring to game nights or a cook out and the dish that is always requested.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 12 Cups Salsa

Ingredients
  

  • 1 28 oz. Can peeled tomatoes
  • 2 10 oz Cans Rotel Brand Tomatoes and Green Chilies Mild
  • 1 Bunch Cilantro finely chopped
  • 1 Garlic Clove minced
  • 1 Small Onion finely chopped
  • 1/2-1 Jalapeño Pepper
  • 1/2 Lime Juiced
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1/4 tsp Sugar
  • 1/4 tsp Cumin

Instructions
 

  • Do all the prep work first. Open the cans of tomatoes and tomatoes with green chilies. Wash and finely chop the cilantro leaves. Deseed and finely chop the jalapeño pepper. Finely chop the onion. Finely mince garlic clove.
  • Put the can of tomatoes, can of Rotel tomatoes & chilies, cilantro, garlic, onion, and jalapeño pepper into a big bowl and puree with an immersion blender (a regular blender or food processor also works) Puree it a little bit if you prefer chunky salsa or more if you want a smooth consistency, depending on how you like your salsa.
  • Add lime juice, salt, sugar, and cumin. Mix and refrigerate for at least a few hours (to let the flavors blend) for best taste.
  • Serve chilled from the refrigerator with your favorite brand of tortilla chips. Our favorite is the Trader Joe's no salt tortilla chips.

Notes

Let Salsa chill in the refrigerator for a few hours for best taste. Serve chilled with your favorite brand of tortilla chips! 
Keyword appetizers, Mexican, under 15 minutes

Easy Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte

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Nothing says fall more then a Pumpkin Spice Latte. Making it yourself is much more cost effective. So you can make these all season long for the price of one at a coffee shop. Of course, the taste is way more superior too! The best part about this homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte is simple ingredients that you can find anywhere and you don’t need any fancy espresso/coffee machines.

Easy Pumpkin Spice Latte

sofiyababinov
Nothing says fall more then a Pumpkin Spice Latte. Making it yourself is much more cost effective. So you can make these all season long for the price of one at a coffee shop. Of course, the taste is way more superior too! The best part about this homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte is simple ingredients that you can find anywhere and you don't need any fancy espresso/coffee machines.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Course Drinks
Servings 1 Latte

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 Cup Brewed Coffee your favorite brand
  • 1/2 Cup Milk or milk substitute
  • 1 TBS Sugar
  • 2 TBS Pumpkin Purée or can of 100% pure pumpkin, for a pie filling
  • 1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice more to sprinkle on top of latte
  • Whipped Cream optional, to top

Instructions
 

  • Brew fresh coffee. Any coffee would work, but I used Starbucks Blonde Roast. In a small container, mix together the pumpkin purée, sugar, and pumpkin pie spice until well blended together.
  • In a small saucepan on medium heat, combine and mix cold milk, coffee, and pumpkin purée mixture. Stir until it almost boils and comes to a simmer, then it's done.
  • Pour into individual mugs and serve piping hot. Optionally add whipped cream on top and sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice to decorate. Enjoy!!!
Keyword coffee, drink, easy, fall, latte, pumpkin

My Weight Loss Journey

Okay, so let me start off by saying that, this is a hard one for me to post. But I know that it needs to be done so here it goes… The reason I decided to make this post is because I have been struggling with this problem for 4 years now since I had my son and have been diagnosed with Hypothyroid and PCOS and I know that I am not alone. I know there are more people out there that are facing the same challenges and I am writing this to give you hope, encouragement, and a solution. I want to give this information to help someone because I only wish someone had shared this with me earlier. Also, because I have been receiving a lot of compliments from people and they want to know what my secret is. Well let me tell you, it is no secret. I have been working out!

Now before you jump to conclusions please hear me, I have tried working out before. I literally spent 1 entire summer going to the YMCA and doing Zumba class for 1 hour and then I’d lift some weights and do the elliptical or treadmill for another 30 minutes. I did that every day that summer Mon.-Fri. and I also spent another hour driving because it was 30 min. each way for me to get to that particular location. I got no results. Lost about 5 pounds in all and spent a lot of time and money. I tried different diets, but you guys know that I love to eat and cook new yummy meals for my family so that did not work out for me either because I could never last long. Ya’ll know I like my biscuits with gravy! Lol jk. I tried many different work out programs, probably all the ones that you can think of and if I was able to do them, I got little to no results and others I tried were just too hard for me to do, I mean impossibly hard. So we got the elliptical machine for our house and I would do that, every other day, or walk/run outside at least 3-4 times a week and still was not getting the results that I wanted.

Then one day I tried something that completely changed my life. I tried the Power 90 work out. That my friends, is the secret. Before you read any further, let me just tell you that I do not sell the work out or own it, and I am not getting paid in any way for writing about it. I just genuinely, want to help someone that is looking for help like I was. I only wish someone would have told me about this amazing work out! Sure, I have heard some friends saying that they did it. But no one really told me much about it and their experience with it.

I know many of you have New Year’s Resolutions. I don’t believe in those because I feel that we should always be striving to get better in all aspects of our life, the physical, spiritual, financial, mental, emotional, etc. just to name a few. I don’t know about you but I always want to be the best that I can be. Now, with that being said, I am all for setting and achieving goals and in fact I do that all the time. I just feel like resolutions should always be made and not just at the beginning of the year but all through out. Some of you have resolutions to loose weight or get into better shape. In fact that is one of the top resolutions that most people have today. So reading this post is just the right timing for some of you.

This was my resolution in September last year so I decided to start the Power 90 work out. It is an in home work out. A set of DVD’s. I bought mine online for about $50. However I have seen some for sale on Craigslist and through Ebay I even saw some for sale at local thrift stores, so shop around and get a good deal on it. I am all about saving money. I started my work out September 28th and completed the 90 days, 12 weeks on January 7th. I do not know exactly how much weight I lost because I was not weighing myself consistently. However I just bought new pants for church, 2 sizes smaller! That is a pretty big deal in just 12 weeks! My husband has been doing the work out with me and he has lost about 15 Pds and also dropped 2 pant sizes. Also it has helped us to build balance, endurance, and flexibility. I feel a lot more tightened and toned. That is a really big deal in such a short amount of time! The work out is supposed to be done 6 days a week but we only did 4 days a week, each week, due to our already busy schedule and because we did not want to over work ourselves.  We did not change our eating or lifestyle habits at all. That is why I like this work out. I can still be me, do me, and eat what I want to. It does come with a food guide/cook book with light recipes but we did not follow them.

Sure there were days when I wanted to quit. Especially in the beginning. There were days when I would pout, and cry. Get mad at myself because I had to take breaks between each interval. But I kept on going. The work out is hard, don’t get me wrong. But it is doable. I have tested and tried it myself! I guess one of the biggest motivations for me was a picture I had seen on FB before that said “Would you rather work out 30 minutes a day or be dead 24 hours a day?” And that really got me thinking hard about getting in better shape. Some other things that helped me stay motivated was getting it over with first thing in the morning, before devotional time, before breakfast, etc. Having my husband do it with me has also helped a great deal! We are there to support each other and hold each other accountable. And of course all the compliments and encouraging words that I have been getting from many people has really helped a lot! I appreciate each and every one of you.

With all of that being said, I hope that this is helpful to someone out there. I am definitely not a fitness guru. I just want to offer help and support to someone who is needing it. I am not where I want to be, but thank God, I am not where I used to be. I plan to continue with this work out. To do another round of it and then possibly do the harder versions like the Power 90 Extreme etc. (Which by the way I did try before but was not able to do because you first have to get at least decently fit to be able to do that one). Please comment and let me know if you have any questions or comments for me. I would love to be able to help you, any way that I could. Blessings!!! 🙂