Taco Ring and my basic Taco Meat

I saw this from Pampered Chef, but wasn't intrigued enough to try it until the recommendation of my sis-in-law, Ruthie. I was instantly hooked! This comes together pretty easy and looks and tastes amazing! Now, I never have good old taco seasoning on hand, which this recipe calls for, so I will start with my taco meat recipe then the Taco Ring recipe with the option of taco meat or taco seasoning. Got that?

Taco Meat
Keep in mind, I kinda do the 'little of this, little of that' method here so these are all approximates. You can do more or less of each ingredient to fit your taste.
1 lb ground beef
1/2- 1 medium onion (or about 2 tbsp dried onion)
2 tbsp oregano
2 tsp parsley
2-3 shakes cayenne pepper
1 can diced tomatoes, drained well
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown the beef with the onion and salt and pepper. Drain. Add the remaining ingredients. Simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with taco shells, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, olives, guacamole, diced tomatoes, corn, etc.

Taco Ring
Taco recipe from above OR:
1 lb ground beef
1 pkg (approx 1/4 C) taco seasoning mix

2 pkg refrigerated crescent roll dough
2 tbsp water
1 C shredded cheese
Desired toppings

Prepare taco recipe as above OR brown ground beef, drain then stir in taco seasoning. Add water. Separate crescent dough into triangles. Arrange triangles in a circle with wide ends overlapping in the center and the narrow ends pointing towards the outside. There should be about a 5" diameter in the center of the circle. A pizza pan works great, but I've made this into 2 rings and done it in cookie sheets as well. Scoop the meat mixture evenly onto the widest end of the triangles. Lift the pointed ends over the filling and tuck under the wide ends at the center of the ring. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve with optional toppings of salsa, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, chopped onion, olives, sour cream, etc.