I have my parents to thank for this "recipe". We have been eating taco salad as long as I can remember. It is a Monday Night Football tradition although we enjoy it year round, and on other days of the week as well! My parents' version of taco salad is simple...lettuce, tomato, olives, taco meat, cheese, crushed chips and salsa. In addition to those items, I also add kidney beans and pumpkin (pepita) seeds. My version of taco salad:
- Romaine lettuce, although I use any type of lettuce I have on hand. I've thrown spinach and kale in before. Any lettuce will do.
- Shredded cheddar cheese. I buy the organic white cheddar or sharp cheddar (or both) from Trader Joes.
- Tomatos-Love them. Lots of them!
- Sliced black olives
- Kidney beans-If I remember to do so, I soak dried kidney beans the night before or in the morning before work; or I just use a can of red kidney beans and drain them. Beans add an extra protein punch and my kids LOVE them.
- Handful of pumpkin seeds
- Handful of crushed tortilla chips
- Avocado-While I detest avocados, my husband and kids love them so I of course buy them (or get them from my parents tree if we're really lucky). So gross.
- Lots of salsa
- Taco meat-I usually only use about 1/4-1/2 pound of ground beef or turkey meat. Sometimes I don't put any meat in mine but my husband won't accept taco salad without the meat! I brown the meat in a skillet and then add some of my homemade taco seasoning (about a tablespoon or 2 or 3) and enough water to almost cover all of the meat. Give it a good stir and then let it simmer until all of the water is absorbed, stirring every now and then. This usually takes about 20 minutes or so. If I want it to cook faster, I just turn the heat higher.
Toss all of the above and enjoy!
Following is the recipe I use for taco seasoning. I increase the quantity from about 1 tablespoon of each to about one whole bottle of each. I prefer to make a larger batch and store it in my spice cupboard. I also add dried onions to the mix. Homemade taco seasoning is simple to make, very cost effective in comparison to store bought envelopes and free of additives, sodium and all those mystery ingredients.
This is half of Brian's plate. He got home from work really late so I didn't add any meat to his salad (so he could reheat it after he got home) and I left the pumpkin seeds and chips out (again, so he could add when he ate the salad). There are no tomatoes on his salad bc he doesn't eat them. My salad was covered in tomatoes! Yum!
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