Jen’s Taco Salad
My friend Jen from Santa Cruz made this delicious taco salad for me a number of years ago. We’ve been close friends since high school and have been through a lot together. Everytime I make this I think of her đŸ™‚ Thanks Jen!!
There are a lot of options here. Use Smart Ground for vegetarian. Omit cheese to make it vegan.
It looks like there are a lot of steps/ingredients, but it really comes together very quickly. If you have extra taco filling, it’s great in…guess what??…tacos!!! And also good in burritos, quesadillas, scrambled eggs…be creative!
Hungry yet?
Ingredients:
Taco Filling:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1-12 ounce package Smart Ground (regular or Mexican flavor), or 12-ounces ground beef
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup frozen corn kernels
Salt to taste
Salad Assembly:
Tortilla chips (can use baked tortilla chips), slightly crushed into bite-sized pieces
Salad greens
3 tomatoes, chopped, about 3 cups
A sweet salad dressing, such as French or Marie’s Raspberry Vinaigrette
1-1/2 cups shredded cheese
Salsa
1. In a medium sized skillet, heat extra virgin olive oil over medium high heat. When hot, add onion and cook for about 5 minutes, until it starts getting soft.
2. Add chopped red and green bell pepper and cook for 3-4 minutes til slightly softened.
3. Add Smart Ground or ground beef and stir to combine. Add cumin, chili powder and oregano and cook either until Smart Ground is warmed through or until ground beef is cooked.
4. Add black beans and corn and cook until corn is heated through. Set aside.
5. On dinner plates or large salad bowls, place a single serving of crushed tortilla chips, about 3/4 cup or as much as is desired. Measurements of ingredients used to assemble the salad below are estimates, use your best judgement.
6. Place about 1/2-3/4 cup of warm taco filling mixture on top of the crushed tortilla chips.
7. Place about 3/4 cup of salad greens on top of taco filling mixture. Sprinkle 1/3 cup of chopped tomato on salad greens.
8. Drizzle desired amount of salad dressing over the salad.
9. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup of shredded cheese on top. Spoon desired amount of salsa on top.
My kids love salad if it’s taco salad! Makes enough for at least 6 very hungry people.
Greek Salad
Greek Salad…it’s crisp-y, crunch-y, salt-y, a bit tart and herb-y. I crave this salad all the time and make it often!
It holds up great – I’ve been known to make a huge bucket of it to bring on camping trips. The longer the veggies and cheese sit in the dressing, the more flavorful they get!
Greek Salad
6-8 servings
1 large green bell pepper, cut into bite sized pieces
4 plum tomatoes, diced
half of a large cucumber (that’s been peeled and seeded, if necessary), cut into bite sized pieces
1 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced in half
4-5 oz. feta cheese, crumbled or cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon minced onion (if you like more onion or larger pieces, please do add it! I’m not much of a fan of a lot of raw onion)
Dressing:
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2-1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1-1/2 teaspoons oregano
1. Place bell pepper, tomato, cucumber, Kalamata olives, feta cheese and onion in a large bowl and mix gently to combine.
2. Place dressing ingredients in a small bowl and emulsify with a small fork. Pour dressing over the veggie mixture and mix gently to combine.