Restaurant Style Mexican Ground Beef

• servings: 2 to 2-1/2 cups
• total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 pound of 80/20 ground beef

1/2 onion, finely chopped

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Basic seasoning mix:

1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon of salt (or to taste)

1/2 to 1 teaspoon of cumin

1/8 teaspoon of black pepper

1/2 cup of water

1/2 onion, finely chopped

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Alternate seasoning (taco) mix:

2 tsp. chili powder

1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. black pepper

Directions

In a measuring cup, mix the spices into the 1/2 cup of water and heat it up enough to dissolve the salt. Pour the mixture into a 10” skillet and heat it up on medium heat.

Once the water heats up, add the beef (and onions, if using them) to the skillet and spread it out evenly.

Work the ground beef, breaking it up into small pieces, and turn it over as needed. A disk type potato masher works well for this using a moderate pressure and a twisting motion. Continue to break up the beef as it cooks, and as soon as there is no longer any pink in the beef, drain it through a cheese cloth lined colander. It should only take about 5 minutes. Further cooking will make the beef tough and chewy. If necessary, more water may be added by the quarter cupful if the beef is still pink by the time the water has evaporated.

Taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper if desired. Immediately remove from heat.