On vacation in the mountains I needed to put something together for dinner that would satisfy tired skiers and boarders. It had to be easy, because I was one of those tired vacationers too. Here’s what I made:

I have been using ground turkey more and more as a replacement for ground beef in recipes. It started when I was making dishes for my neighbor’s son, but I have to say ground turkey has grown on me. I can get similar fond or browning, and the meaty flavors that I like with ground beef can be obtained with ground turkey, and the cleanup ( rendered grease ) is usually less – probably because the ground turkey I tend to buy is lower fat than the ground beef I buy.

For this night’s meal, I decided to make tacos. Everyone could add their own ingredients and have as many or as few as they chose, but not too much work for the diners.

I started by mincing and browning an onion. For me onions always add to a savory dish and even if they’re not called for they are an easy way to step something up.

Removed the browned onions to a bowl and started browning the ground turkey, in the same pan.

Sliced and seeded some jalapenos for a garnish.

Added the onions back in with the browned ground turkey and prepared for the sauce. La Frontera is the branding Rick Bayless uses – one thing I notice is that there’s a greater depth of flavor – the sauce is wet, and instead of a lot of salt, other ingredients like vinegar help add a depth of flavor. As a Baltimore native I grew up with McCormick’s taco seasoning – but these days I like La Frontera better. I was ok with using the pre-mixed sauce as a crutch – on vacation I didn’t have the same spices I do at home, and it ( the pre-mixed stuff ) was a time-saving step.

Adding the sauce…

All ingredients mixed together and simmered – ready for tacos.

I wrapped mine as little burritos. Served these with sour cream, mixed greens, cheddar cheese and jalapenos. Tasty and savory, a nice way to refuel for another day on the slopes.