One of my favorite quick and easy weeknight meals is taco salad. It uses foods that I almost always have on hand and only takes 30 minutes to prepare. Taco salad gets a bad rap since it is, admittedly, not the healthiest of salads. Personally, I believe that all foods should be enjoyed within reason. I don’t consider any food off limits; but I do try to keep my consumption of unhealthy items to a minimum. I also like to modify recipes to make them a little healthier without sacrificing flavor. This means I usually use ground turkey in place of ground beef, reduced-fat sour cream and baked chips. Also, I hate the packets of taco seasoning that they sell in stores. I do, however, love the Goya brand of Adobo seasoning and use it heavily when making Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes. It is salty, so be careful when adding additional salt. My method with recipes like this is usually “a dash of this and a pinch of that”. For purposes of this blog, I did attempt to record seasoning amounts.
Spicy Taco Salad
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients
1 lb. ground turkey
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 teaspoon Goya Adobo
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
1 head green leaf lettuce
1 tomato
1 red onion, sliced
1 15 oz. can black beans
1/2 cup shredded Mexican Cheese
yellow corn tortilla chips
4 tablespoons hot salsa
4 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream (optional)
guacamole (optional)
Directions
1. In a large skillet, brown meat, diced onion, diced jalapeño and spices in oil over medium-high heat.
2. While meat is cooking, wash and chop lettuce and tomato, slice onions and heat black beans.
3. On a large dinner plate, layer lettuce, meat, beans, tomato, onion, sour cream, guacamole and salsa. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and crushed tortilla chips.
