Quick and Simple Tex-Mex.

I always kinda giggle when people comment on how lucky Bird is to be married to me because he must eat so well all the time.  That's adorable.

Today for lunch, he brought cold pizza that was leftover from Saturday's lunch.

I will say, however, that I've taken pretty seriously the role of Top Chef in our house, and I've tried to specialize in learning to make things that can take Bird back to his southern California roots.  Be it my version of green sauce, flan, or the shredded beef that I use in tacos or the beef tamales I make and sell, Bird is a big fan of it all...and all of it takes so much time.  No foolin', friends- those tamales are a labor of love.

The problem is that I'm a little white girl who grew up in small town Oklahoma, so my idea of Mexican food all throughout my childhood could be summed up in two words: Taco Bell.  (The most white I've ever felt in my life was telling the lady at Baja fresh that I wanted my taco "Americano style" the last time we were in LA.)  In addition, I do not have hours and hours every day to make a taco, so when I am feeling a little drive-thru taco craving, I need a true-to-my-roots fast food taco recipe...and I ain't finna use no seasoning packet. And I don't think you should either.  I don't think this could get easier, and it's definitely faster for me than driving the 40 minutes round trip to a dive-thru.

What you'll need:
1 lb of ground beef (I use 85/15, and I wouldn't suggest going any fattier)
half a can of Rotel
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

In a skillet, break up your ground beef.  Pour in half a can of Rotel, making sure to add the liquid in, too.  Mix it together really well before you add it to the heat.  Add in your salt, garlic powder, and pepper.  Mix it all together, and cook on a medium low heat until the beef is cooked and browned and all the liquid has cooked out.  Now, because I used a little leaner meat, I don't drain it.

I usually eat this on a tostada shell that I fry up myself (because it's so easy to do), and I prefer to shred my own cheese (because pre-shredded cheese has additives like powdered cellulose that keep it from clumping, but they also keep it from melting all beautifully)...but honestly, pour this over some tortilla chips, add a little cheese, lettuce, and sour cream, and you have dinner in like, ten minutes.