7.27.2010

Taco Salad

I don't know about you, but all summer our dinners consist of either something BBQ'd or grilled. It is usually way too hot to cook & use the oven (except this summer which will probably go down in history as the coldest summer ever!)
About once a week, I will make a hearty salad for dinner if we have grilled all week and are all BBQ'd out.
One of our favorite (and easiest) summer dinners is Taco Salad.
This takes less than 10 minutes to make.
Here is what you need:
-ground beef (or turkey)
- packet of taco seasoning
- lettuce
- can of kidney beans (drained)
-tomatoes
-green onions
-avocado
-shredded cheese (I use a Mexican blend)
-tortilla chips
Of course, you can always add/substitute other items in your salad (like black beans, pinto beans, cilantro, corn, olives, etc)
and the star of the show...this Salsa Ranch Salad Dressing:
I LOVE this dressing! You can find it in the produce/refrigerated section of your grocery store.
If your store doesn't carry it, I think it is basically a combo of pico de gallo & sour cream, so you could make your own dressing if need be.

First, I brown my ground beef & add the packet of taco seasoning.
I usually cook 1 lb, but then freeze half of it to use later on in the summer!
I also cook the meat earlier in the day & then keep it in the fridge so that it is cold.
When you are ready to make your salad, chop & dice up all your goodies...lettuce, tomatoes, avacados, green onions, etc.
In the bowl, I layer lettuce, green onions, tomatoes, drained kidney beans & meat.
Then I add the cheese & dressing:
Then, I mix it up!
After I mix it up, I add my avocados & tortilla chips! (Idon't like my avocados or chips to get mushy & soggy....that is why I add them last!)
I usually use tortilla chips, but I saw these on sale & thought I would give them a try (they were yummy!)
So, if you need a quick, easy, healthy (and BBQ alternative) dinner this summer, I recommend Taco Salad!
Enjoy!

33 comments:

  1. Looks yummy! Going to try this very soon! I saw those tortilla salad strips the other day and they look perfect for that salad!

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  2. I am so making this when school starts back up. This will be a great easy meal to do on a day where I'm pooped from teaching!!

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  3. I didn't know what to make for dinner tonight & now I do! Thanks!

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  4. one of my favorites too! and thanks for letting me know about the dressing...picking that up next time.

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  5. Yum! I just might have to make that this week.

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  6. Thank you! I am definitely making this. We are at the pool almost every day and we are tired of our regular meals that don't require cooking.

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  7. This is by far my favorite salad also!!!! I didnt' know others "knew" about it!!! Ha Ha, we were intorduced to it by our neighbor a couple years ago!!!! Yummmmmmmmmmy!!!!!

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  8. I grew up on this salad. One thing my mom did different is she adds the kidney beans to the meat after it's cooked so it gets some of the taco seasoning flavor. Yum.

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  9. This is almost like the taco salad I make, I have used that same dressing before and loved it but my husband prefers it with thousand island, that's about the only difference!
    And do you live in California, particularly maybe northern, because you mentioned a particularly cold summer and we're definitely having the same in Northern California! Where is the sun? :)

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  10. this sounds delish!!!! I am def oing to have to try this one!!

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  11. You know I DON'T cook, but that sounds good to me, so I think I might surprise Erik and have dinner ready for him tonight! I'll have to leave the tomatoes aside for him, but plenty more for me!
    P.S. Missed you at music class yesterday!

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  12. We are taco salad fans as well - it's my husband's favorite meal! We use Catalina dressing and crushed Doritos - yum! :)

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  13. That looks so yummy! I'm jealous of your cool summer. We're having the hottest one on record and since I'm seven months pregnant I break into a sweat just standing up :(

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  14. I need that dressing. I always mix sour cream and salsa. It's crazy delicious. As for our taco salad, we are a crushed doritos and catalina family. My fave summer meal for sure. If only the dramatic children didn't hate it so!

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  15. I had to come back and tell you I made this and it is PERFECT. Jon and I both work from home and he is SO PICKY about salads. He won't eat any dressing and he is weird about what he will put in salads. So I put everything in little containers and we could each make our own salad, enough for a week of lunches.

    My grocery store didn't have salsa ranch but they did have chipotle ranch. YUM!

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  16. I love when you post recipes! I am going to have to make this for dinner tonight now. :)

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  17. That looks so incredibly yummy! I love taco salad!

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  18. I make a version of this too! I use crushed doritos instead of the totillas chips, but now i will be searching for those!

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  19. Oh YUMMM. did I have to see this before lunch? love the step by step! never knew there were strips in a bag? I use fritos in mine!

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  20. Ohhh yum! Taco salads are my favourite salads!

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  21. Ohhh yum! Taco salads are my favourite salads!

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  22. What a cool idea! I never thing of taco salad since I am not a salad fan, but that looks delicious!

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  23. Yum-o! I think I might need to make this tonight!

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  24. I love Taco Salad--love your pictures!

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  25. I miss having Taco Salad! Thanks for sharing.

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  26. fantastic post! well, photographed and it looks tasty and easy too!

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  27. Taco Salad! My family loves taco salad. Its something we eat often in the summer.

    Beautiful photos!

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  28. This looks soooo good! I'll be trying it soon. I hopped over from Kelly's Korner today :-)

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  29. I LOVE you blog! We just made the taco salad and it was amazing!

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  30. I have been waiting for this one ever since you shared it on Insta! Definitely putting it on the menu for next week.

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