Taco Bell coming to Manchester :)

Speaking of Old El Paso and Discovery though, does anyone else think that the taco and chili seasoning tastes wrong?  I stock up when I go home but always run out before the next trip.  I mean, even Walmart Great value brand, or whatever they have at Aldi in the states, tastes better than the Old El Paso here.  They must put something different in it.  If anyone has a recipe for making your own mix I'd be happy for it!

I never tried the stuff in the states, so I can't compare but I did buy a tub of fajita spices from Costco, thinking it'd be just like stuff at home and it was massively salty. Eww. That went right into the trash. That's a problem I have with some of the stuff from home, it's waaaaaay too salty.

If anyone has a recipe for making your own mix I'd be happy for it!

This is how I make 'taco meat' from scratch (no mix!) but it's not really a recipe with exact amounts:  brown chopped onions, garlic, fresh chilies & beef mince in a bit of oil.  Drain off excess fat if you want.  Then I dump in some chili powder (check the label to make sure it's pure ground chilies or at least doesn't have anything added that you don't want) - don't be shy with the chili powder, go on & dump some in there to make the meat look reddish with the spice.  We use what is sold as 'Hot' chili powder, but you could get mild or whatever you prefer.  (We like hot spice!)  Then I dump in some ground cumin - I use about a third to half as much cumin as the chili powder...better to start with a little then add more to taste.  Salt & pepper.  Sometimes I add a shake of ground cayenne pepper, and sometime some lime juice as well.  You could add a bit of dried oregano too if you like it with that.  If I can find any sort of chipotle product (I do from time to time), I might lob some of that in too.  Add some water to cover & then let it simmer down into a sort of red chili gravy.  Serve with your beans & tortillas & fixins.  The end.

It's very easy to do - I don't really understand why people need a mix. 

This is how I make 'taco meat' from scratch (no mix!) but it's not really a recipe with exact amounts:  brown chopped onions, garlic, fresh chilies & beef mince in a bit of oil.  Drain off excess fat if you want.  Then I dump in some chili powder (check the label to make sure it's pure ground chilies or at least doesn't have anything added that you don't want) - don't be shy with the chili powder, go on & dump some in there to make the meat look reddish with the spice.  We use what is sold as 'Hot' chili powder, but you could get mild or whatever you prefer.  (We like hot spice!)  Then I dump in some ground cumin - I use about a third to half as much cumin as the chili powder...better to start with a little then add more to taste.  Salt & pepper.  Sometimes I add a shake of ground cayenne pepper, and sometime some lime juice as well.  You could add a bit of dried oregano too if you like it with that.  If I can find any sort of chipotle product (I do from time to time), I might lob some of that in too.  Add some water to cover & then let it simmer down into a sort of red chili gravy.  Serve with your beans & tortillas & fixins.  The end.

It's very easy to do - I don't really understand why people need a mix. 

That's pretty much how I do it, Mrs. R. Tastes so much better than a packet!

Definitely!  I cook pinto beans from scratch (dried) & add some chili powder, chipotle, seasonings, or whatever I feel like (onion, garlic, fresh chilies, beer, cilantro, ham or bacon....sometimes do this in the crock pot) - and we have those in place of refried beans, because I prefer whole beans anyway without the added fat of refrying.  You could use tinned pinto beans if you prefer & sometimes I do that too.

Then because there's always leftovers, I bung the 'taco meat' & the pinto beans in a container, and voilà - chili for another day.  It's what we're having tonight in fact, from out of the freezer.

It's very easy to do - I don't really understand why people need a mix. 

Sounds faffy. Opening a packet is like tons easier.

I have been to Tortilla in London and actually preferred it to the London Chipotle! I didn't mind the Essex Taco Bell, it wasn't exactly like the US one but for what it is, it was cheap and fun!

Thanks for telling me about Pinto in Glasgow, I looked it up and had no idea it existed!  It seemed to have pretty good reviews and I'm making the drive down to Glasgow tomorrow so I'll have that for lunch, awesome!!! There's also a place (becoming a wee chain now) called Taco Mazama in Glasgow and they were OK as well. I just miss Mexican food a lot and make it myself, but there's just lots of good memories getting a takeaway one brings Just thought I'd share the news about the upcoming taco love in Manchester for anyone there who was interested.

I think making your own taco spice is really good, I too find that the Costco mix was really salty, likewise making curry powder was so much easier than I expected and much nicer I'm totally craving refried beans now, thanks guys :p

Just thought I'd share the news about the upcoming taco love in Manchester for anyone there who was interested.

I appreciate the info. I'm enough of a Mexican food fan I'd eat it 4 or 5 times a week.  I imagine it will be a bit like KFC, not quite the same but I go anyway because it is something from home. KFC doesn't taste quite like home, but it is still good, and I am sure Taco Bell will be the same.

if everyone stopped eating meat the world would quickly become overpopulated with animals.

Surely if everyone stopped eating meat, there would be no profit in raising  -- letting mommy and daddy animals make love and feeding the babies until they get big enough to kill -- cows, sheep, chickens, goats, etc for slaughter so their numbers would get smaller, not larger? If they stopped eating eggs then no more chickens except for pets. If people stopped wearing leather or wool or kid and using feathers as well, then nobody would waste money raising the creatures that those things come from. Add in fish and the stocks in the ocean might in some cases bounce back.

I remember I once sent DH a photo of my KFC meal in the States, with the receipt next to it, so he could see the gigantic mound of delicious food I got for less than five bucks.

Fast forward to me dragging him into KFC in Ashford. Cost me, like, fifteen quid for a two tiny servings of squishy, gray chicken fragments and some squishy homefries.

Surely if everyone stopped eating meat, there would be no profit in raising  -- letting mommy and daddy animals make love and feeding the babies until they get big enough to kill -- cows, sheep, chickens, goats, etc for slaughter so their numbers would get smaller, not larger? If they stopped eating eggs then no more chickens except for pets. If people stopped wearing leather or wool or kid and using feathers as well, then nobody would waste money raising the creatures that those things come from. Add in fish and the stocks in the ocean might in some cases bounce back.

Exactly. Thank you, Trémula.

Haven't tried many of the recipes yet but the sweetcorn and black bean salsa in Thomasina Myers Mexican Made Simple wasn't too complex to make and was very very yummy.

I used to get TB soft tacos sometimes for lunch when I lived in AZ but with so much yummy mexican food in the area it wasn't worth going any more than that.

This is how I make 'taco meat' from scratch (no mix!) but it's not really a recipe with exact amounts:  brown chopped onions, garlic, fresh chilies & beef mince in a bit of oil.  Drain off excess fat if you want.  Then I dump in some chili powder (check the label to make sure it's pure ground chilies or at least doesn't have anything added that you don't want) - don't be shy with the chili powder, go on & dump some in there to make the meat look reddish with the spice.  We use what is sold as 'Hot' chili powder, but you could get mild or whatever you prefer.  (We like hot spice!)  Then I dump in some ground cumin - I use about a third to half as much cumin as the chili powder...better to start with a little then add more to taste.  Salt & pepper.  Sometimes I add a shake of ground cayenne pepper, and sometime some lime juice as well.  You could add a bit of dried oregano too if you like it with that.  If I can find any sort of chipotle product (I do from time to time), I might lob some of that in too.  Add some water to cover & then let it simmer down into a sort of red chili gravy.  Serve with your beans & tortillas & fixins.  The end.

It's very easy to do - I don't really understand why people need a mix. 

Thanks Mrs Robinson.  I use those same spices when I run out of mix, and it always ends up so hot I can't eat it.  I can't handle heat (which is a bit of a pain because DH thinks the hotter the better).  It's not "hot" chili powder - it's just generic chili powder.  Obviously I don't add the cayenne, sometimes just a bit of paprika.  For some reason I can never duplicate the flavor in the mix - I'd love to know what else they have in there.  Maybe it's some beef bouillon or dried something or other, or maybe I just fancy the taste of processed food (horror!).  Thanks for trying to help though lol.

Maybe just start with a wee little bit of chili powder & add it slowly so it doesn't end up being too hot? 

We are chili-holics here, so we put a lot of chilies & different kinds in!

Dragging this back up because it is open now.  We won't have a reason to go to Manchester for a few weeks, but when we do, we'll be going.

I had a look at the Taco Bell UK menu, and had to laugh when I saw you can get fries as a side.