Foodie Friday: Guest Post: Simple Taco Salad

Meredith from ReadySetEat contacted me and asked to guest post this week. After seeing this recipe I agreed to let her take over for Foodie Friday. She knows how I love easy and delicious dinners, and found us a great recipe for this week!

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In many households, salads can get a bad reputation. And when you’re looking at a pile of lettuce with nothing but a few sad vegetables strewn on top, this reputation can certainly be justified! But salads will only be boring, bland or unsatisfying if you use boring, bland or unsatisfying ingredients; if you’re feeling stuck in a salad rut, it might be time to consider kicking your recipes up a notch.

To turn salads from wimpy side dishes into hearty and delicious easy recipes for dinner, make sure you’re adding lots of protein and a wide variety of ingredients! Salad ingredients can go way beyond just chopped veggies—adding seasoned meat, sweet fruit, tangy cheese or crunchy carbs can not only add tons of flavor to your meals but will also bulk them up a bit and make you actually want to eat healthier!

If you have meat-lovers in your household, a spicy taco salad could be the perfect dish to transition family members into salad-eaters. Filled with ground beef, tortilla chips, salsa, beans and cheese, this salad can definitely keep hungry stomachs satisfied but is a lighter option than your typical taco night. It’s essentially just like eating taco filling, only with a healthier lettuce base in place of tortillas.

This easy taco salad recipe is delicious as is, but don’t feel like you need to limit yourself to just the ingredients listed below—add whatever other taco toppings you’d like! A dollop of sour cream would cool it off, or try adding a dash of hot sauce for an extra kick. Olives, sliced green onions, guacamole or sliced avocado would all make tasty toppings, too. And if you’ve only got ground turkey or chicken in the fridge, don’t hesitate to replace the beef—it’ll taste just as yummy!

Simple Taco Salad

Total Time: 20 min

Serves: 4

• 1 pound ground round beef (85% lean)
• 1 can beans in chili seasoned sauce
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 can Ro*Tel® Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, drained, liquid reserved
• 6 cups chopped romaine lettuce
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 ½ cups broken tortilla chips

Cook beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 7 minutes or until meat is crumbled and no longer pink, stirring occasionally. Drain. Add chili beans, chili powder and reserved liquid from tomatoes. Cook for 2 minutes or until hot; set aside.

Divide lettuce evenly between 4 serving plates. Spoon meat mixture evenly over lettuce and top each salad with cheese, broken chips and drained tomatoes.

Author Bio: This is a guest post by Meredith K. on behalf of ReadySetEat. Browse through more quick, family-friendly dinner ideas at www.readyseteat.com.