Taco Salad

We’ve been eating and I have been posting a lot of salads lately.  Today’s addition to my unofficial roster of Summer Salads (you can eat them in the Winter too)  is this recipe for Taco Salad. 

After spending the last couple of days at Freshmen Orientation with my son and being bombarded with huge amounts of information, a lot of which didn’t apply to us, and feeling like we were trapped in an episode of GLEE because there were so many song and dance numbers about things like how to  register for all the right classes, how to get along with your roommates, where you can and can’t park, how delicious the food is and selecting the right meal plan, what it will take to graduate in 4 years, rushing a fraternity or a sorority, the dangers of binge drinking, why getting to know your professors on a personal level is good, and of course the school fight song,…..let’s just say it was mildly entertaining and definitely exhausting.  :)

And then, because I wasn’t able to work for those two days, I had to double up on my cheese stores today to try and catch up.  Let’s just say, what to make for dinner was one more decision I didn’t want to have to make.  BUT, I went with the Taco Salad and every one was happy.  (Except the son who doesn’t eat vegetables but no problem, he was able to make a couple of tacos/burritos with the taco meat while the rest of us enjoyed the salad.)   This is a quick and easy lifesaver on those hot days when you don’t know what to make and don’t feel like cooking.  You still have to brown the ground beef but the cooking here is kept to a minimum.    The measurements are approximate.  Just add what you like.  If I was making this for a party or a large group I would assemble it all in a large bowl or on a huge platter.  For our dinner tonight, I just prepped all the ingredients and let everyone assemble their own salads. 

TACO SALAD

1 head of ice burg head lettuce, chopped

1 pound of lean ground beef

1 taco seasoning packet

4 small tomatoes, chopped,

1 bag of shredded Cheddar cheese

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 avocado, chopped

1 bottle of Kraft Catalina Salad Dressing

Optional: cilantro, black olives, black beans, corn, and crumbled corn chips.

Brown the ground beef and drain off all the fat.  Prepare the meat according to the taco seasoning package. 

Assemble the salad starting off with lettuce as a base, add the cooked taco meat, (black beans and corn if you want a really hearty salad, sprinkle with the Cheddar cheese, and top off with tomatoes, onion, avocado, and sprinkle with optional items like the cilantro, olives, and crumbled corn chips.

I usually make my own salad dressings but not for this salad.  We LOVE the Catalina dressing.  It’s sweet, sour, and tomato-y.  I like the pour spout on it too because it lets you decorate and make designs on you salad as you dress it.  What’s not fun about that? 

While I am thinking of it, I would love to know what bottled salad dressings you like to use?  I have had a hard time finding several that we all like.  It would be nice to have more on hand besides just Catalina and the Hidden Valley Ranch.