I admit it: I am fickle and cannot help it. On occasion I know I need to eat and want to eat healthy, but can think of nothing that I would like to eat, so I must find a way to force myself (I know, I’m weird.) I was having such a mood this week, dead out of inspiration. So I went back to summers in my childhood, when the long light of the evenings and heat encouraged activity, and the garden provided lush veggies. Mom would often make Taco Salad as quick, light, healthy, and kid approved dinner. The best thing about Taco Salad is the scent of the spice simmering as the beef is browning. That scent always makes me hungry and this week’s dinner was no exception and thus a great success.
Ingredients
1 packet of taco seasoning (it is very easy to make your own, but for reasons of time I did not on this occasion. Sometime soon I will post a recipe for seasoning.)
1 lbs. ground beef
3 hearts of romaine lettuce, washed, dried, and torn to bite size
2 avocadoes, cubed
2-3 tomatoes, diced
½ cucumber, peeled and diced
1 can black beans
1 tsp. chili powder
3-4 stalks of celery, washed and chopped
Ranch Dressing ( I use Ree Drummond’s recipe for Ranch Dressing, except I use plain unsweetened goat yogurt and almond milk shaken with the herbs and spices to taste and consistency.)
Shredded cheese to taste
Favorite tortilla chips to taste
Favorite Salsas (I used my homemade Tomatillo Verde Salsa. Yet another recipe I’ll be posting soon.)
Directions:
Heat beans in small sauce pan with the chili powder. When warm through, strain away liquid.
While the beans are warming, brown the beef in a skillet, adding the taco seasoning when very little pink is visible. Continue to simmer until all pink has been cooked away and the seasoning has been well distributed throughout. Remove from heat.
just imagine the scent of spice wafting through the air.
While the beans are heating and the beef is browning, prep all veggies.
for easy cubing, cut a cross hatch pattern to, but not through the skin.
Insert a spoon between the flesh and the skin to easily remove the cubes.
In large salad bowls layer lettuce, crushed tortilla chips, taco meat, beans, cheese, and veggies.
its all coming together.
Dress with the fresh ranch and the salsa. Serve and enjoy!
hearty, healthy, and delish, oh my!
- 1 packet of taco seasoning (it is very easy to make your own, but for reasons of time I did not on this occasion. Sometime soon I will post a recipe for seasoning.)
- 1 lbs. ground beef
- 3 hearts of romaine lettuce, washed, dried, and torn to bite size
- 2 avocadoes, cubed
- 2-3 tomatoes, diced
- ½ cucumber, peeled and diced
- 1 can black beans
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 3-4 stalks of celery, washed and chopped
- Ranch Dressing ( I use Ree Drummond’s recipe for Ranch dressing, except I use plain unsweetened goat yogurt and almond milk shaken with the herbs and spices to taste and consistency.)
- Shredded cheese to taste
- Favorite tortilla chips to taste
- Favorite Salsas (I used my homemade Tomatillo Verde Salsa. Yet another recipe I’ll be posting soon.)
- Heat beans in small sauce pan with the chili powder. When warm through, strain away liquid.
- While the beans are warming, brown the beef in a skillet, adding the taco seasoning when very little pink is visible. Continue to simmer until all pink has been cooked away and the seasoning has been well distributed throughout. Remove from heat.
- In large salad bowls layer lettuce, crushed tortilla chips, taco meat, beans, cheese, and veggies. Dress with the fresh ranch and the salsa. Serve and enjoy!