I'm a meat-eater.  An ever-loving carnivore!  I've said it.  It's no surprise.  Let me tell you how I sometimes have to gag when I read friends or people that I follow online when they post about making some sort of obscure vegetarian dish or soup.  Ewwwww!!!  No offense, but just totally NOT.  FOR. ME.  AT.  ALL.  I am just not one of these people who would ever dream of meal planning for my family and NOT including either beef, chicken, pork, turkey, or heck, at least fish in our daily dinner.  Not just for my kids and husband's sake, but for mine!  I gotta have some meat with my meal!  This "let's fix an all-veggie salad and call it dinner" thing is for the birds.

I don't know if I actually inherited this meat-loving gene from my dad (he's a double-meat, double-cheese kind of man) or if it is just one of the unique quirks that God intended I be born with.  Whatever the case, I would literally eat beef every meal of every day of my life.  Well, ok, there would be that occassional trip to Chick-fil-a to take down an Original Chicken Sandwich and some barbecue sauce-laden waffle fries.  All washed down with Sweet Tea, of course.  But I digress.

So, since back in January when my dad had his heart attack and triple bypass surgery, eating so much red meat has been on the forefront of my brain.  I've been trying to experiment with introducing things like ground chicken and turkey into the meals I so lovingly prepare for my family.  I do have to say that I am the least thrilled with having to do this.  I often share with my husband that there is just simply no substitution for the distinct flavor of good 'ol beef.  I would eat steak, a loaded baked potato, and  a house salad every day for dinner if I could! 

Tonight was the night I decided to try Turkey Tostadas.  Or, chalupas, as my mama would say.  Was I hesitant? OOOOOhhhh, yes, I WAS hesitant!  I browned the ground turkey just as I do the beef, sauteeing it with some chopped white onion.  Then after draining it, I added in a few spices that I hoped would help it taste more beef-like.  It was the usual suspects — cumin, garlic, chili powder, salt and pepper.  After simmering it a few more minutes, I finally decided that was probably as good as it was going to get.  "Besides," I thought to myself, "if it doesn't taste good, I'll just slather the guacamole on top to hopefully mask the turkey flavor".   

We assembled our tostadas and my kids went nuts for them!   William even went so far as to call me "the Best Cooker Ever"!  My older kids ate two tostadas each — which is A LOT for them!  Granted, Nathan doesn't take his with beans.  (Don't even get me started on how ridiculous it is that he doesn't like beans on nachos or tostadas!)

My husband said he actually preferred the turkey to the beef, which is what I would obviously normally prefer to use.  I was actually quite surprised to hear him say this.  While the turkey wasn't exactly as great as I thought it'd be, I at least got my "meat" fix.   

So what I've learned is that I can feel good about branching out and trying new takes on my favorite things to eat.  Although tonight's tostadas aren't exactly like the ones my mom makes for me, they are still yummy and a bit similar.  So here's to incorporating more non-beef meats into my weekly meal planning.  But, I must say, I am SO looking forward to Wednesday's dinner — Crock-Pot French Dip Sandwiches!  YES!!!  Beef.  It's what's for dinner, ya'll!!