Last night I was looking for a quick, simple meal to make that would be pleasing to everyone’s pallets. The solution: homemade taco salads. This is a great meal to eat and it contributes nicely towards your daily protein and veggie needs. Plus, it is delicious!
Servings: 4-6
Ingredients
homemade corn tortilla chips (10-12 per person) (recipe found here: http://cleaneatingveggiegirl.wordpress.com/2012/09/24/how-to-make-homemade-corn-tortilla-chips-vegan-nachos/)
1 pound lean ground beef or turkey (if serving meat-eaters)
1 taco seasoning packet (if serving meat-eaters)
3-4 TB of water, more as necessary
1 15 oz can of no-salt-added black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp mild chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
sea salt, to taste
1/2 lime, optional
Optional toppings, to your liking:
shredded lettuce
1 tomato, chopped
shredded fat-free or part-skim cheese (I am loving the Velveeta Queso Blanco shredded cheese)
salsa (I used Herdez green salsa)
guacamole**
**For my guacamole I chose a fast and easy approach:
Frontera’s Guacamole Mix. This is so easy to make. All you do is mash up 2 avocados, add the mix, stir, chill, and serve. It is really tasty, too! Plus, I am loving the fact that it contains all natural ingredients with zero preservatives.
Directions
1. Make homemade tortilla chips. I placed these into the oven during the last 10 minutes of preparation time so that they would be warm upon serving.
2. Prepare the taco meat (if serving meat-eaters) according to the seasoning packet directions.
3. While the taco meat is cooking, heat 3-4 TB of water in small skillet over medium-high heat. Once the water is hot, add onions, green peppers, garlic, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and sea salt. Cook for approximately 5 minutes, adding additional splashes of water as needed. Add beans and cook 4-5 additional minutes until heated through. You can also add a squeeze of lime juice, if desired.
4. Prepare your other toppings and set up into a “buffet-style.”
5. Assemble taco salads….however you’d like!
I placed 10 homemade tortilla chips into my salad bowl. I topped it with shredded lettuce, the beans mixture, tomatoes, guacamole, and green salsa (I was eating vegan this day, so I decided against the cheese).
I served my taco salad with half of a honeycrisp apple (half because these suckers are huge!). It was the perfect balance between spicy and sweet!
