Wrapping up the first day of jury duty with spicy tacos!

Nothing too exciting to report on the jury duty front today... I spent 6 1/2 hours waiting, while tortured and forced to watch the TV Land channel I might add, and was then sent home. A group of 40 people did get chosen to go in front of the judge - the clerk told us after they left that whoever was picked from that group were going to be involved in a 2 week trial! Wow! Guess we'll see how tomorrow goes...

Thankfully, tonight's dinner was pretty laid back and didn't take too much time to come together. I loved the fact that in this recipe, Crispy Taco Shells with Lean and Spicy Meat, you actually create your own hard shells which you lightly season with chili powder and salt. Once you warm a few tortillas in the microwave, they are simply spritzed with canola oil spray, seasoned and then draped over a rack in the oven to form the shell. The tops of mine did seem to fold in a bit more than I would have liked, but nonetheless, the results were very good! To lighten the meat for the tacos, ground sirloin is cut with ground turkey - this way you still get that beefy flavor, but it is not as heavy. The meat is first browned with an onion, then diced tomatoes with green chiles, smoky cumin and oregano are added. To give the mixture some heat, ground chipotle chiles are also added in to season the meat - if you don't have this or don't want heat, you could always use chili powder instead to give it that rich "taco" flavor.

Once you stuff the crispy shells, feel free to top them with your favorite additions - we opted for crisp shredded romaine and a bit of grated sharp cheddar. We were pleased with how crispy the shells stayed against the juicy taco meat - they had that shattering effect when you bit into them. That little extra bit of seasoning on the outside was just the perfect touch to tie all the flavors together.

Recipes
Crispy Taco Shells with Lean and Spicy Meat