Skip the store-bought packet and make your own homemade taco seasoning recipe that’s bursting with bold flavor and authentic taste. This easy blend of spices, like chili powder, cumin, paprika, and garlic, comes together in minutes and instantly upgrades ground beef, chicken, or veggies. Once you try this homemade mix, your next taco night will never be the same!

There’s nothing better than DIY taco night with the family! Everyone gets to build their own just the way they like it, which makes dinner fun and easy. I pile mine high with sour cream, cheese, salsa, lettuce, cilantro, and basically every topping in sight, while my kids keep it simple with their favorites. It’s a win for everyone at the table.

I didn’t realize it was so simple to make your own taco seasoning at home. Once you do, you’ll never go back to the store-bought taco seasoning packets again. This homemade version works perfectly with ground beef, ground chicken, or ground turkey, and it’s just as good tossed with roasted veggies, stirred into soups or stews, or sprinkled over taco salads.

It’s a pantry staple that’s cheaper, fresher, and more flavorful than anything store-bought, plus, it’s made with spices you probably already have on hand. No trip to the grocery store required. Mix up a big batch and keep it in your spice drawer for easy, delicious Taco Tuesday nights anytime.

Ingredients For Taco Seasoning

This Homemade Taco seasoning recipe is a total game-changer! Smoky, savory, and full of depth. Each spice pulls its weight to create that perfect balance of heat and flavor.

• Chili Powder: the bold, earthy base that gives this blend its signature flavor
• Ground Cumin: adds warmth and a hint of nuttiness
• Smoked Paprika: brings a rich, smoky undertone
• Garlic Powder: savory depth in every bite
• Oregano: adds a subtle herby note
• Coriander: brightens and balances the spice
• Onion Powder: rounds everything out with mellow sweetness
• Fine Sea Salt: enhances and ties all the flavors together
• Black Pepper: sharp bite for balance
• Cornstarch: helps the seasoning cling to meat and thicken sauces
• Cayenne Pepper: gives it that touch of heat that makes everything pop

Simple ingredients, big flavor! This mix is better than any store-bought packet and stays fresh for ages.

How To Make This Recipe

Christmas dinner is one of the most memorable meals of the year, and this collection brings together all the holiday favorites your family loves. Whether you’re planning a show-stopping main dish like prime rib or glazed ham, or searching for the perfect mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls, vegetables, and other sides to serve with it, you’ll find the classics right here.

These tried-and-true Christmas dinner recipes are comforting, festive, and guaranteed to bring everyone back for seconds!

Classic Christmas Main Dishes

Christmas dinner deserves a stunning centerpiece, and these traditional mains deliver big flavor with minimal stress.

Green beans with bacon are one of those simple, comforting side dishes that somehow always steal the spotlight. Growing up, any veggie instantly became more exciting the moment bacon showed up — and honestly, nothing has changed.

This stovetop green beans recipe gives you crisp-tender green beans, perfectly cooked bacon, and a buttery, savory finish that tastes like it came from a steakhouse, but it’s ready in just 20 minutes.

Whether you’re prepping for a holiday dinner or pulling together a quick weeknight meal, these skillet green beans with bacon deliver big flavor with hardly any work.

Easy Green Bean Recipe

I grew up on green beans — but they didn’t start out green, our green beans were purple! They were slightly sweeter than regular green beans, but otherwise tasted the same and would turn green after cooking.

Purple beans make me think of home and gardening every summer with my family. We worked long hours in that garden, but never as long as our mom, who is superwoman. Our hands would turn purple from picking and canning beans during the summer and we would have to scrub and scrub when we were done. Isn’t it funny how something you hated as a kid somehow becomes something you miss?

read more: Looking for easy sides? Try our Classic Baked Beans with Bacon next!

Why You’ll Love These Bacon Green Beans

• Quick: Side dishes should be quick and simple and this dish is ready in less than 20 minutes.
• Flavorful: It’s impossible for something to be bland when bacon is involved! Plus, add the garlic seasoning and this dish is bold in flavor!
• One-Skillet: Cleanup is a breeze and all the flavor is contained in one dish.
• Holiday-Friendly: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter…this dish works for them all! It’s a regular on our Sunday dinner table as well!

Ingredients You’ll Need

To make this simple green bean recipe, you’ll need the following:

• Fresh Green Beans: Add crisp texture and natural sweetness and they hold up well to sautéing without getting mushy.
• Olive Oil: Prevents sticking, helps beans sauté evenly and adds light, savory flavor.
• Butter: Adds richness and a silky coating and it helps seasonings stick to the beans.
• Garlic Spread Seasoning: Quick way to add garlic and herb flavor without chopping garlic cloves.
• Brown Sugar: Balances the salty bacon and seasoning and lightly caramelizes the beans for extra flavor.
• Bacon: Adds smoky, salty crunch and the bacon drippings flavor the beans as they cook.

How to Make Green Beans with Bacon

1. Cook the Green Beans: Place your trimmed green beans in

I created this low-carb spinach and sausage egg casserole based on our other egg casserole recipes, but I really wanted an easy, cheesy breakfast casserole with crumbled sausage for a hearty, but still healthy, start to your morning.

Best of all, you can make it ahead of time, so it’s the perfect breakfast casserole for Christmas morning or weekend brunch!

Ingredients for Egg and Sausage Casserole

• Breakfast Sausage: Provides savory, meaty flavor and richness. Its fat also helps keep the casserole moist and infuses the eggs and veggies with flavor. 
• Eggs: The main binder and base of the casserole. They set as they bake, holding everything together while adding protein and structure. 
• Skim Milk: Lightens the egg mixture, making the texture more custardy and less dense. It also helps distribute flavors more evenly throughout the dish. 
• Salt and Black Pepper: Basic seasoning to enhance all the other flavors. Salt balances richness, and pepper adds gentle warmth.
• Sharp Cheddar Cheese: Adds bold, tangy flavor and creamy texture. Sharp cheddar stands out against the eggs and sausage, giving the casserole depth.
• Dried Oregano: Brings a warm, earthy, slightly peppery note that complements both the sausage and cheese, adding a layer of herbal flavor. 
• Fresh Spinach: Adds color, nutrients, and a fresh contrast to the richness of the meat and cheese. It also brings a bit of moisture and balance.

How to Make Sausage and Egg Casserole

1. Prep: Preheat the oven to 350℉ and grease a 9×13″ casserole dish.
2. Cook the Sausage: Heat a skillet over medium high heat and cook the sausage. Drain the grease and set aside.
3. Combine: Beat the eggs and milk in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add in the sausage, cheese, oregano and spinach and stir to combine.
4. Bake: Pour the egg mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake for about 30-40 minutes.

Are Breakfast Egg Casseroles Healthy?

The short answer is that it depends! It depends on what goes into the egg casserole. This recipe is low carb (2g) and high protein (16g) with a full serving being only about 250 calories. That’s a hearty and satisfying breakfast!

What to Eat with Sausage Egg Casserole

I love to eat egg casserole with a scoop of fresh pico de gallo. It would also be great with some salsa verde or Read more

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! It’s getting even chillier over here in Ohio and I am soooo here for it. The snow started falling around noon and it’s supposed to keep falling through tomorrow. Do I even need to tell you how excited I am about this?!?! We’re supposed to get 3-6” and for us here in central Ohio, that’s a whole lot of snow.

I’m about to start some tomato soup simmering on the stove and we’ll be dipping the best ever grilled cheese sandwiches into it tonight. My son, Ben, requested clam chowder for dinner tomorrow and I’m looking forward to that too. I’m thinking that we might need some cheesy biscuits to go with it.

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: Sometimes the simplest things end up being the biggest wins. That’s how I feel about this cheesy, crispy, Chicken Bacon Ranch Quesadilla. My boys and I threw them together a few weeks ago for the first time with some of the items we tend to have on hand in the freezer. Suffice it to say that these are way tastier than they have any right to be!

This crave-worthy Ground Beef Fried Rice is absolutely packed with flavor, and it’s ready to eat in under 20 minutes. Did I mention that it’s a one pan meal? Yep. Quick and easy with almost no dishes to do? Count me in for seconds.

Everyone seems to have a different name for these melt-in-your-mouth Mexican Wedding Cookies. Regardless of what you call them, they’re dangerously delicious! Eat just one? Yeah, right.

Imagine you’re sitting at a European streetside cafe, sipping a tiny cup of espresso and watching all the people bustling along. The waiter brings you this confection for dessert. It’s a slice of Chocolate Salami, a rich and silky ganache, absolutely packed with crunchy cookies and walnuts. And, the good news? You can make this no-bake dessert at home in just 10 minutes. Buon appetito, indeed!

This luscious Chocolate Sea Salt Ice Cream is the kind of indulgence you whisper about at the end of a long day. I don’t know what it is about sea salt ice cream that has me hooked, but I’m in deep now, and there’s no going back!

What I’m CRAVING: This Christmas salad with fresh greens, mandarin oranges, pomegranate, candied pecans, and crumbled feta in a zesty citrus vinaigrette caught my eye this week. Not only is it beautiful, but it sounds absolutely delicious too!

My FAVORITE THINGS this week