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Beef-quinoa tacos cut cost, keep taste

Last week I wrote about how I was inspired to re-examine my grocery spending and look at ways to cut back. One pricey item my husband and I buy quite frequently is ground beef.

We eat a lot of American-style tacos (crunchy corn tortilla shells stuffed with seasoned ground beef and topped with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, avocado, cheese and cilantro). They're quick and easy, plus we both really like them. In fact, I think it is fair to say we probably like them a little too much. If I were to analyze a month's worth of menus, I'd be willing to bet money tacos appear more than any other dinner item.

Ground beef is expensive, or at least the kind we like is. And even though we opt for fairly lean (15 percent fat) ground beef, from a nutritional standpoint beef isn't the best option. Very lean or extra lean ground turkey has a better nutritional profile, clocking in more calcium, less fat and almost equal protein and fewer calories. But ground turkey tacos taste like, well, turkey tacos.

And turkey is still meat.

So in an effort to eat less meat (and spend less money) without making my meat-loving husband feel deprived, I decided to experiment with different combinations of beef and grains.

First up was beef and quinoa.

My husband might argue he's still being deprived meat, but I thought the mixture was delicious and once assembled I was hard-pressed to detect a difference between all ground beef and seasoned beef and quinoa.

Beef and Quinoa Taco Meat

1 small onion, finely diced

1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced

1 hot chile pepper, seeded and minced

1/2 pound ground beef

2 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning (recipe follows)

1 cup cooked quinoa

Water, as needed

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the onion, bell pepper and jalapeno pepper with the beef, breaking the beef into crumbles, until the vegetables are tender and the beef is no longer pink. Drain off fat. Stir in taco seasoning and quinoa and cook just until heated through. If mixture seems dry, add water a tablespoon or so at at time to create desired texture.

Makes enough to fill about 12 taco shells.

Taco Seasoning

1 tablespoon PLUS 1 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 cup chile powder (I like to use ancho)

1 heaping teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons cumin seed

1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes or to taste

2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules, optional

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

In an airtight container, combine all ingredients and mix well.

Makes about 1/2 cup.

Food on 07/29/2015

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