As the days grow longer and hotter, I find it to be more of a struggle to get a home-made meal on the table. Sometimes it’s just too hot to cook! As a child, my mom would make taco salad on these steamy summer evenings. It requires only about 15 minutes stovetop use, and it’s ready in a flash. While not the healthiest version of a salad*, this taco salad recipe is darn tasty and I know your family will gobble it up! ¡Olé!
Ingredients:
½ lb. ground beef
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 (1-oz.) packet taco seasoning mix
1 head green leaf lettuce or Romaine lettuce, chopped
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
1 (6-oz.) can sliced black olives
1 (15-oz.) can red kidney beans
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
Fritos chips, crushed
1 avocado, sliced (optional)
Ranch or Catalina dressing
Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet. Brown the ground beef in oil, drain, and add taco seasoning, following the directions on the packet.
To assemble the salad:
Divide the lettuce between 4 salad plates. Top with ground beef, tomatoes, olives, ¼ of the red kidney beans, and ¼ cup cheese. Sprinkle with some crushed Fritos chips and serve with Ranch or Catalina dressing.
For a healthier version of taco salad, substitute
- Ground turkey instead of ground beef
- Bearitos Blue Corn Tortilla Chips (made with organic blue corn) for Fritos
- A small amount of olive oil for salad dressing. There is a lot of flavor in the taco seasoning mix, dressing isn’t even all that necessary!