Homemade Taco Seasoning

My husband and I had a conversation that went like this last week:

Me: Is it too soon to have tacos again?

Husband: No, the kids loved it. Besides we have Pizza Friday now, why not Taco Tuesday?

Me: True! Catchy name too.

5 year old: Moooom, you know you can't copy the Lego Movie for everything, right???

That's right. Husband and I are so tired we forgot that "Taco Tuesday" was a major component of The Lego Movie and that our children would immediately notice this. Nothing like a kindergartener to keep you honest, right?!

The good news is that our Taco Tuesdays are nowhere near as dramatic as the inspiration and we have two nights a week that the kids are eating with NO FUSSING. That is a parenting win right there. I should give my boys credit though that at 4 and 6 they are outgrowing much of the pickiness we had last year and we don't have to fight over food very much.

Initially I was being lazy and buying the taco seasoning kit. I've made a Mexican seasoning for various recipes before, but hadn't ever gotten around to making it in batches. Now that I'm not worried that the kids will reject the meal I decided to play around a little with the seasoning and try it myself. Crazy easy. Crazy good. 5 minutes to throw it together and I had all the spices already. Now, I toned down the cayenne pepper significantly because of the kid factor (I'm a spice wimp too), but if you want more heat just change the measurement from a pinch to a 1/4 teaspoon. Or you can do what my husband prefers, which is douse the taco in Sriracha.

Homemade Taco Seasoning:
adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients:
1 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
pinch of cayenne pepper (add more if you want more heat)

Mix all ingredients together. This makes about 1/4 cup, and I suggest adding about 2 1/2 tablespoons in place of a taco seasoning packet.
This can easily be doubled or tripled to keep with your spices.