Taco Salad

I am addicted to taco salad. Seriously, who ever invented this stuff was brilliant. Meat, beans, cheese, lettuce and other raw vegetables…Just add watermelon for dessert and you have all four food groups!

Back in the day, when I forst got married everyone made taco salad the same way. Doritos, canned kidney beans, cheddar cheese, hamburger, sour cream, iceburg lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and catalina dressing.  There might be a little variation on that but not much.

Well, taco salads have evolved into much more than that. They are still easy and budget friendly, but fresher and more delicous I think. If you have an electric fryer I highly recommend making your own fresh tortilla chips. They don’t take long at all and the difference is amazing. It is one of those small things that takes food from average to incredible.

I like to cut the corn tortillas in long strips. It is different and I like the way it looks. Then I add any number of ingredients based on what is available.

I guess maybe this is a pretty lame blog post. Everyone knows how to make taco salad, and I think I have even shared my basic recipe before.

But it is worth sharing again.

One of the best tips for a great taco salad is to use mixed baby greens rather than the standard iceburg. It not only adds a beautiful color but it adds flavor and texture as well.

It takes a little longer to make an individual salad on each plate but it is worth it. It is more appealing that way. You can also just make the salad bases and allow everyone to add what they like at the table by putting ingredients out in dishes.

Brown lean ground beef or pork (or a combination) in a pan with a little oil. Add taco seasoning, your own homemade or some from the store. McCormick still makes it in an envelope, it has no msg (most of the others I have seen do have msg) and it is about 75 cents. It is funny though, when I first started buying it it was 33 cents. LOL! Drain the meat and set it aside.

I liek to use Vidalias or Texas sweet onions because they give a lot of flavor but they are mild. Now add the following as you like:

• Kidney beans
• Black beans
• Pinto beans
• Chopped bell peppers
• Jalapenos
• Corn kernels
• Tomatoes
• Cheese
• Salsa
• Sour cream
• Celery
• Avocado
• Chicken
• Tortilla chips
• Fried potatoes (trust me)
• Roasted pumpkin seeds
• Sunflower seed

Just layer them on top of your salad, top with a scoop of salsa and then a scoop of sour cream.  Add chopped cilantro, grated cheese and you have an entire meal in under 30 minutes. If you feel like you need dessert add vanilla ice cream with chopped mango spooned over it. Seriously. Does it get better than that?

Image:MaryeAudet