Taco Salad

I love a good salad. To me, a good salad is all about flavors and textures. I can be happy with a bowl of romaine, as long as the dressing is one of my favorites. But I also love a salad of which every bite is a new combination of textures and flavors. As you know, I'm currently in the business of cramming as much fiber as possible into my menus, and a hearty salad is a great way to do that. I'm also in the business of making economical use of everything in my kitchen, and this taco salad (minus the shell) was the delicious result.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.4.8

I started with a quarter pound of turkey meat, which was leftover and frozen after turkey burgers a week before. I browned the turkey meat with some sliced onions, but I could tell it needed a little sustenance. I added a can of black beans, which I drained thoroughly. (Who needs the liquid the beans are packed in? It's loaded with salt and preservatives!) I added a little water, then I took the easy way out on this one (harkening back to Sandra Lee's old Food Network show "Semi-Homemade"); I used a fajita seasoning packet to flavor the meat. I chose the Ortega packet, which I mention for one reason: it was delicious! There had to be some kind of smoke flavoring in it, because it tasted as though the meat/beans had been smoking over pungent wood all day. Fantastic flavor.

Drooling aside, the rest of the meal was very simple. I loaded our plates with lettuce, added onions, (for Ram) tomatoes, (for me) a tiny bit of mozzarella cheese. I piled on portion of the meat, bean, and onion mixture, and I drizzled a little salsa over the top. The combination of flavors and textures was insanely good. For a simple and healthy salad, the result was totally satisfying.

If we had had tortilla chips on hand, I would have crumbled a few on top. But we didn't miss the minimal flavor a taco shell or chips would have added. Besides, the pay-off for leaving off the shells was a few less calories entering our bodies. I'll take all the help I can get!

If you're in the mood for salad that's kicked up a notch or two, give this a try. I promise you'll be happy as you dine with fork in hand.