Football Watchin: UGA vs. Vandy

Homecoming came and went without much pomp and circumstance for me this year. I guess when you live in Athens, homecoming isn't so important as it would be if you had to travel a great distance to attend. Homecoming makes me think of things homemade and one of my favorite discoveries has been homemade tacos. We love having taco night as a family and it's a regular meal around here. I avoid MSG at all cost. It gives me terrible headaches and stomach cramps. For a while, it was very difficult to find things that were MSG free - like canned chicken broth - which you can now get MSG free made by several different companies. Tacos were an issue because the traditional family taco night involves shaking a powdered, MSG riddled substance from an envelope and mixing it with your very high fat ground beef. Ugh. Not good for the tummy. When I found this recipe several years ago, it was a God-send. There may be more natural products on the market today; but this one is so easy and so incredibly delicious that I have no interest in them! Being married to an avid hunter, I have used ground venison exclusively in this recipe and everyone who has had these tacos loves them and can't believe they're made from venison. I highly recommend using venison in place of the beef because it is very healthy, lean red meat and also high in Omega-3s. It is closer in composition to salmon than beef. If you are not a fan of venison, or just not brave enough to try it, get the leanest ground beef you can find so your tacos don't turn out greasy and heavy. The filling is a recipe from Tom Perini's Texas Cowboy Cooking. This cookbook was a gift and it is wonderful! If you ever have the chance to pick up a copy, do yourself a favor and get one. His ranch dressing recipe is amazing!

Picadillo Carmela

(A filling for tacos, burritos, nacho topping or anything else you want to try it on!)

2 pounds lean ground beef or venison

1 large onion, chopped

2 large cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press or finely minced

1/2 cup sweet pepper, seeded and chopped

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup sliced carrots

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 tbl flour

2 cups beef stock

1/2 cup skinned potatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks

1-2 whole jalapenos (optional)

Ligntly brown the meat, onion and garlic in a large skillet over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. If meat is very lean, like most venison, first heat 2 tablespoons of oil or bacon drippings in the skillet before adding meat mixture. Add the chopped peppers, celery, carrots, salt and pepper. Add flour to 1 cup beef stock and mix well; add to meat along with remaining stock. Stock should barely cover meat mixture. Lower heat, cover and cook 10 minutes. Add the potatoes (and jalapenos, if you wish) cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Serves 6 to 8.