Did I mention I’d eaten my way around Italy for about the past 3 weeks? Did I mention I’d also drank more Italian wine in 3 weeks, than 2 people should? No? Well – you know you always have to pay the piper. So I’ve got to get my eating back under control – and I always go to vegetables when I have over indulged. Add in the fact that tacos are super easy and I always have ground beef in the freezer, so wha-la. Easy, Delicious and Filling Taco Salad is for dinner.
Dave loves it when I serve taco salad. It’s always different, always yummy and always filling. This was the last one I made ….
Ingredients Include :
Veggies :
Lettuce or greens as a base. I like to use Romaine – if you read any of my other posts, you probably know that. Add in some green or red leaf lettuce for variety since the main component is – salad…
Check in the veg drawer and see what’s in there. I had Celery, Green Onions, Radishes, Tomatoes (on the counter – not in the drawer), Cucumber, Carrots, and Yellow & Red Peppers. With all those colors I’m surely getting my daily dose of vitamins!!!
Chop up the veggies you like / your family will eat and get them ready for the salad !
Pantry Items :
I like to add canned (or frozen) corn to my Southwest meals sometimes. Easy peasy – drain and rinse a can of corn. I also like to use TJ’s Charred frozen corn – but then you have to let it thaw – and I was going route of least resistance…
What about beans ? Add some plant protein to your meal and your protein intake for the day! Today I used Pinto Beans – you could always use black beans too. I typically use black beans a lot but came across pinto beans in the pantry and thought – why not? Refried beans are typically made with pinto beans so it should be yummy ! So I opened a can of beans and rinsed them. (Such hard work! 🤣)
Corn Chips – do you have any ? Whatever kind you have – crunch those babies up and add to the salad….
Dressing :
I had my mind set on a creamy dreamy Avocado Cilantro dressing – and of course I zipped it up in about 15 minutes using my handy dandy mini food processor. That recipe is also posted on my page, here. You’ll need a few pantry staples (EVOO / Garlic / S&P) and an Avocado, Cilantro and Lime… Another easy peasy zipparoo in the mini food processor.
Sometimes I use canned salsa as the “dressing” if I don’t have an Avocado to mix up. You can use any salsa you may have in your pantry or fridge. You could always just chop of the Avocado and add it to the salad if you didn’t want to make the dressing too.
Whoa – don’t forget about the Taco Meat !
Yep, hope you got out some ground beef from the freezer or picked up some fresh at the grocery. Your going to need to brown the meat with some salt and then drain off the grease. Add in your taco seasoning (which you make?) from my recipe that is posted on this site here ?
If not, no worries – hope you picked up a packet at the grocery store? Make that taco meat!
Assemble the Salad :
I let everyone (i.e. both of us – ha) pick how much each of us want of each item and then toss it ourselves. I always want a huge bowl with my eyes being bigger than my stomach sometimes. The problem is, if you pick a reasonable sized bowl and then pile it high, tossing the salad can be hard. (first world problems, I know…)
I knew we’d have leftovers (I’d done that on purpose) so that we could have lunches in the following days. With the sour cream and lime juice in the avocado – the dip / dressing stores fairly well for a day or two. Be sure to press plastic wrap right onto the dressing / dip – so there is the least amount of air oxidizing the avocado… if you don’t eat it all in the first sitting.
I hope you agree that this is an easy, delicious and filling taco salad and your family enjoys this meal sometime soon ! This meal is also quite cost effective !
