Turkey Taco Filling

After a weekend filled with pizza and ice cream, I've been craving healthier food.

I've been trying to cook what's in my pantry/freezer as much as possible to cut back on my grocery bills and when I found a 1/2 a pound of ground turkey stuffed in the back of my freezer I put turkey tacos on the menu plan this week.

When I was growing up, "taco meat" was ground beef made with a packet of taco seasoning. I'm not knocking that in any way. I fully admit I have a soft spot of taco seasoning. The problem is added sugars (yes.. sugar is sometimes in the ingredients list!), oils and sodium.

This taco filling mimics the flavors of the seasoning packet, but is much better for you. Especially if you choose no salt added tomatoes. To make it even leaner, I used lean ground turkey instead of ground beef.

I used 93/7 ground turkey but you could use ground turkey breast if you really wanted to. I personally prefer a little dark meat mixed in. I think ground turkey breast is a little too lean and gets dried out too quickly.

Put this taco filling in hard taco shells (like I did), soft taco shells, or even use it to top nachos. I usually make a double batch and freeze it for quick meals. It freezes really well.

Turkey Taco Filling
Serves 4
Adapted from Everyday Food

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 tablespoon ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground red pepper (use more or less based on your spice tolerance)
1 pound lean (93/7) ground turkey
8 oz. can no salt added tomato sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Warm oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic. Cook until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes.

Add the cumin, chili powder, coriander and red pepper and the ground turkey. Cook, breaking up the turkey as it cooks, until the turkey is browned — about 5 minutes.

Stir in the tomato sauce. Let it come up to a boil and reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer until the sauce thickens up — about 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.