Salsa Verde Beef from Simple Nourished Living

Looks yummy! I bet it would be good with pork too - like pork carnitas. I'm thinking that this is WW "simply filling" if you use whole wheat tortillas!

Maria

I thought you were referring to 'the Martha' as in Stewart. However, I checked out her website and it looks as interesting as yours. Thanks Snack Girl.

Anne

Looks really tasty... I'm going to have to bookmark this one for a later date. Thanks so much!!

Aleya

Thank you Lisa and Martha. I have found some wonderful healthy eating websites at Snack-Girl; I will add Simple Nourished Living to my list!

Robin

Well, I have some concern about an ingredient in the taco seasoning. I checked one manufacturer and found this additive "ethoxyquin (preservative)". This additive was first developed by Monsanto in the 50's and used as a pesticide and stabilizer. Not only has it been used in food for humans, it is commonly used in dog foods. Lab results on mice have determined liver and kidney issues. Testing on mice does not really prove anything positive or negative to me, however, this may have negative health results in dogs. Testing on mice and certain other animals cannot take into account lifestyle or genetics. Use of this additive along with others, to me, is a backdoor approach to animal testing and there is no way to know how much the manufacturer is using in their dog food unlike human foods that are regulated.

Studies have found that the tiniest amounts that are used in some spice mixes and other foods are not the least bit harmful to humans.

Now for silicon dioxide. Silicon Dioxide occurs naturally in many foods (a natural mineral) and those foods can be found at this link:

http://www.newhealthguide.org/Silicon-Dioxide.html

"Silicon dioxide is critical for the development of strong nail, bones, teeth and hair. Research indicates that a lack of this mineral may lead to arthritis, poor bone formation, unhealthy skin and poor tooth development. Silicon dioxide also counteracts the effects of aluminum in the body, which may help prevent Alzheimer's disease."

I like this additive for obvious reasons.

If you want to avoid additives of any kind and hydrogenated soybean oil, make your own taco seasoning. I use the following:

Mild to hot chili powder

Cumin

Oregano (Italian or Greek) Mexican oregano is very strong and may be overpowering in your cooking

Fresh or dehydrated garlic

Onion powder, fresh onion or dehydrated onion bits

If you want it a little hot, I use cayenne pepper or Kashmiri chili powder. Both are really hot but the Kashmiri chili has a wonderful flavor.

If you use too much chili, you can always add some cane sugar or agave syrup to tone down the "hotness".

Of course, try to buy organic spices to mitigate additives.

Our Mexican family traditions require cooking the roast with no seasoning and adding pico de gallo to the finished roast along with steamed (microwaved) corn tortillas. The above spices are what I use for making our homemade enchilada sauce, albondigas soup, and Mexican rice not for roasted meat.

These spices can be used, however, as a great "taco seasoning" although this is not traditional for Mexican cooking where we are from.

I_Fortuna

Is salsa verde different from the usual salsa we enjoy with tortilla chips?

Marlene

Lisa - Thanks for the opportunity to share one of my recipes with your readers! I very much appreciate it.

I_Fortuna - Making your own taco seasoning is a great way to avoid unnecessary additives. Fortunately there are also several brands of natural and organic taco seasoning mixes available in most well stocked markets for those who don't want to make their own.

Marlene - Salsa verde is green instead of red because it is made with tomatillos instead of tomatoes. But this recipe will work with whatever salsa you like best.

Martha

I swear I can smell it from the screen. My mouth is watering.

Tabatha

@ Martha, Hi Martha, Yes, I believe I mentioned that organic seasoning blends in packets may be found somewhere, just not here. In our town, very rural and small, we have one Walmart and 2 other very small markets. We have one health food store and it is very expensive. Other families live even further out than us. I have to buy many organics online or drive 2 hours one way to a larger city, therefore, making it cheaper to buy online instead of wasting 4 hours of fuel driving both ways. We don't have much organic produce in our WM, but I am thankful for what we can get. In past years, we were able to have a garden but since the drought, we have to ration our water for our new trees that have taken the place of two 60 year old trees that died and had to be removed. Losing those trees broke our hearts and at about $400 per tree, it was very expensive to have them removed. And, we had to remove the stumps from our yard ourselves, no easy task. : (

I come from the L.A. area where there is an abundance of venues that carry organic products so this is a big lifestyle change. Even California has been hit hard by drought. You see it is not just so easy for many millions of people who live in between a coastal metropolis to just pop into their market and buy organic anything let alone spices. These things we took for granted become rather a big deal and require much planning ahead. The upside? Affordable land and housing, quiet pace, little crime, clean air, very little traffic unless we go to the big city and a lot of outdoor sports! : )

I_Fortuna

@I_Fortuna, I totally get it. I lived in very very rural northern Wisconsin for over 5 years. The closest Walmart was more than 50 miles away. Gathering our supplies took a lot of time and energy but we never locked our doors and left the keys in our cars!!

Martha

Well this looks yummy too. I wish I saw this for my holiday party, but I'm already bringing crab dip. Autumn Calabrese (21 day fix) has a really good South western seasoning. I live in San Diego, so I know exactly what I_Fortuna is talking about.

Tabatha