As promised, I’ll tell you all about the tasty, tasty meal I made myself last night. I’ll also tell you what about it didn’t work, and what I’m going to try to do to make varieties on the theme.

What it turned out to be was tacos, but with a bit of a Mediterranean twist. First, I crushed and minced two cloves of garlic. I did this step first to really allow the garlic flavor to open up. The essential oils react with air, which brings out the flavors more the longer they sit out (but not indefinitely!). Next, I roughly chopped a whole red onion. I combined the two, and added them to a pot of boiling water. I took the pot off the flame and let the flavors meld in the hot water.

While those were steeping, I washed and cut up some potatoes into strips. I drained the onion and garlic, and used the pot to blanch the potatoes with a clove of garlic and a couple of fresh basil leaves.

While the potatoes were boiling, I added ground Italian sausage to the onions and garlic, threw in some kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, and mixed thoroughly, so the onions and garlic and sausage were all combined. I put some olive oil in a pan to heat, with some fresh chopped basil and fresh chopped dill. Threw the sausage mixture into the pan of hot oil and covered it. Meanwhile, I drained the potatoes, discarding the garlic clove and basil leaves.

When the meat finished cooking, I added some more olive oil to the drippings from the sausage, and let it heat up. I then briefly fried the potatoes to give them a nice crunch on the outside. I added kosher salt, black pepper, and some store-bought Creole seasoning.

Then, it was just a matter of putting some sour cream on a tortilla, adding some meat/veggies and a couple potatoes, and voila!

All told, it took me a little over half an hour to cook, and it made more than enough for me to have at least 3 meals out of it. Ultimately, I think if I cook it again, I’ll probably just use regular sausage, as the Italian sausage didn’t give me the exact flavor I was looking for. The Italian seasonings were just a bit too strong. Feel free to substitute any type of meat you may prefer, and some bell peppers of any color would also be a welcome addition.

Enjoy!