Thursday, February 28, 2013

Turkey Tacos

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I'm starting to get nervous about Sunday's 15k! Eek!  'Should I change what I listen to? Should I run faster than I have been?' Ah, race anxiety, how I've missed you...says no one. Ever.

I took one for the team today both out of kindness and curiosity.  My boss brought me a tub of garlic tahini kale from Whole Foods this afternoon. I've always eyeballed the stuff but shied away from lack of knowledge/experience with tahini.  As a result of this simple act of generosity I pondered a few things : 1) You should never turn down a food 'gift' because of food sensitivities: that's just rude.  The act of giving/receiving is far greater than any tummy ache 2) Garlic tahini is delicious but has soy in it 3) I will find a way to make my own at home. Stay tuned.

I chewed all of my fingernails off the other day (I know, gross, but let me get to the point). Now looking at my hands is almost surreal because I see my grandmother's hands.  Oh, I loved her hands. I remember how I  used to stare at them.  She probably thought I was weird, but I'm glad I have that part of me as a reminder of her.                                                                             Just quietly, I'm pretty sure I'd seen her chew her nails a time or two.

Now for the food.  I had sort of an 'aha' moment in Costco a little while ago where I was wanting make tacos, but not with the tortilla then it hit me: taco lettuce wraps!  I surf my fair share of Pinterest and had seen people doing their versions of the P.F. Chang's lettuce wraps, and decided this would be my paleo answer to my taco craving. I must tell you: these taco's were amazing.  I can't wait to make them again!




Start by simmering some sliced garlic and red chili flakes in a skillet over medium heat until fragrant...


...add some chopped carrot, onion, and whatever else you think would be delish in a taco...


...add salt, more olive oil if needed (I need a bit more sometimes because I don't use non-stick pans)...


..saute until the carrots are tender and the onions are almost transparent.


While waiting for the onions and carrots, I acted like Rachel Ray and multitasked my way through some poblano pepper and fresh cilantro.



I added half a package of ground turkey for this meal (this is a whole package, I know, but I wanted to show what it is I'm working with. Gosh!) but you can add more if you need.


Brown up the turkey; stirring occasionally...


I add these spices to my tacos.  I read the back of a 'taco seasoning' packet once and this was the gist of it: chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika.  I find that the convenience packets of seasonings contain 'unwanted's' like whey powder. Get out of here whey, you aren't wanted. 


Once the turkey is browned add in the pepper and cilantro and mix it in and turn the burner to low.  You don't want to keep cooking the mix too much further.
 (Never mind the mess I made on the stove, I'm a sloppy stirrer)


To finish, I peeled apart some romaine heart leaves, washed them and used them as a crunchy, awesome vehicle for my taco-y goodness.

Oh, and I swear I will start working on my camera skills.  They are abysmal.





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