Quick Taco Salad

This is so easy. I served this buffet style for a Daytona 500 Party. Everyone loved building their own.

This was yummy, I have not had a taco salad in forever. I only had 1 lb of beef and so I made 1/2 recipe. I am not a fan of raw onions, so I decided to chop the 1/2 onion and sautee it in 1 Tblsp of safflower oil until transluscent. I then added the beef and an addition of 2 minced garlic cloves and a dash of garlic salt and black pepper. For the taco seasoning I used Penzeys Brand. It is more natural and less sodium than the packets. I used 96% lean ground beef from Trader Joes. I layered the bowls with torn lettuce from a bag of butter lettuce and radicchio mix also from TJ's. Then added about 5 broken ranch flavored tostado rolls chips, 1/4 chopped tomato, a tblsp or so of lite sour cream, 2-3 sliced olives, about 2 Tblsp of sharp cheddar cheese, 2-3 tblsp of medium Chi Chis brand bottled thick and chunky salsa. After that I layered 1/6 of the cooked meat and onion mixture, then topped that with about a tblsp more sharp cheddar and 2 tblsp more med salsa. This was so delicious. I did have to write down all of the precise measurements because I calculate calories currently. Made as is 1 bowl came to about 305 calories. That is fantastic. Thanks

When the weather gets hot this is one our favorite quick easy meals, each person can put their own favorite toppings on top. I like mine on Doritos, while the other half likes the Fritos. I made the 'Avocado Ranch Salad Dressing' from this site for the dressing this time, usually we just top with a dollop of sour cream.

We eat a lot of taco salads during the winter months because they are warm and filling. I don’t think you can mess up a taco salad no matter what recipe you use. They all have the same basic ingredients and it really comes down to personal taste as to what you add and subtract. In an effort to clean out the fridge, I added pinto beans and green peppers to the meat and used up a bag of fresh spinach by mixing it with the lettuce.

This is a wonderful build it like you like it dinner. I made this for just us, but it would be easy to scale for a large crowd and great for a party food. As it is it's the perfect summer night dinner when you don't want to heat up the kitchen cooking a lot and don't want a heavy hot meal. I used tortilla chips and didn't have shredded cheese so I just used a can of condensed spicy cheese soup heated up. I did top my salad with some homemade guacamole as well. This is easy to customize to what you have on hand and suit to personal preferences. Great summer recipe!