Help me fix the best version of these four dishes

[tea4one]

For the past few times that I have made Spaghetti, Tacos, sloppy joes and Chili I have been less than impressed with the final dish. I have even thought of buying and trying different seasonings or seasoning mixes to enhance the flavor but I am not sure which one to buy or recipe to try or the right amounts and combination of ingredients without ruining the final dish, I've done that in the past. The final result has to be kid friendly so obviously it can't be too spicy.
What is your tried and true for these dishes?
Before anyone suggests the all-american chili, I think I am going to try that tomorrow after I buy all the ingredients to make it.

[erin elizabeth]

The All-American Chili is my go-to chili. I make it with beef broth instead of wine though. Maybe you'll like it.

I use a modified version of a CI recipe for tacos.

I saute a small onion, garlic, and one pound meat then add:

2 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cayanne
salt

Stir. Add some kind of tomato product (a couple tbsp of paste from a tube or some tomato sauce), a big splash of cider vinegar, and some chicken broth (if I have it) or water to make it the thickness I want. I really like this recipe.

[charley]

Marinara Sauce


few tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 shallots, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
about a tablespoon of minced garlic
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 - 1/3 cup Marsala or red wine
large can tomatoes (6 in 1 is a favorite)
2 bay leaves
oregano
fennel
crushed red pepper
black pepper

In olive oil saute onions, shallots, and celery. Add garlic for 30 seconds. Add tomato paste for a minute, then Marsala and saute for another minute. Add tomatoes and seasonings. Simmer for a couple hours.

[mkc]

For spaghetti (if you mean sauce), we like Emeril's Turkey Bolognese (although it makes a HUGE amount - at least it freezes beautifully).

Can't help for tacos. We usually eat carnitas or fajitas as soft tacos.

For sloppy joes, we tried Ellie Krieger's recipe once and liked it.

For chili, keep in mind we are in Texas and Texas chili has no beans in it. Beans on the side = perfectly fine. Beans in your chili = gosh darned cotton pickin' Yankee! For from scratch, you can't beat Tom Perini's Ranch Chili. If you want an awesome mix, Cin Chili is fantastic (and much better than the faux recipe on Food Network's site). I can find this in our local grocers here in Texas (and I do modify it by browning a diced onion and a few cloves of minced garlic with the beef). Tastes like you cooked the chili for hours.

Oh, and always use good quality, fresh spices. I get my chile powders (and chili powders) from Penzey's.

Michelle

[melis_d]

We make our own taco seasoning since we're trying to cut down on salt, and usually use ground turkey instead of beef. DS (4) will eat this recipe. Here's the recipe, from Allrecipes with some modifications; we always use Penzey's spices as well (medium-hot chili powder):

1 T chili powder
1/4 t each of garlic power, onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes, dried Mexican oregano
1/4 t paprika
2 t ground cumin
1 t sea salt (we omit, but original recipe called for this)
1/2 t black pepper
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1 t corn starch

We use the mixture to taste; usually 2/3 of the recipe above (which I make in double or triple batches to keep in the spice cabinet) with 1.25 lbs of 93/7 ground turkey.

Best of luck finding something that works for your family.