Taco Salad

Taco salad is one of those super easy meals that is just plain great.  I had it all the time when my husband and I were first dating, since his mom made it often.

It's a basic meal with 5 main parts--ground meat, crushed tortilla chips, lettuce, thousand island dressing, and shredded cheddar cheese.  It's quick, easy, and perfectly delicious.  This one is great for a busy weeknight when you want something simple.

My husband and I went from memory when we made it, tossing in what looked right to try and capture the flavor of a dish we hadn't enjoyed in several years.


You start off with the most basic of ingredients: Doritos.  I crushed a few handfuls of Doritos and tossed them in a large bowl.

Next, I piled on some lettuce.  In my case, I used some salad mix since I had just picked up a bag.

I browned some ground beef in a skillet, and added some cumin and chili powder to give it a taco flavor.  That got piled on next.

Next came the thousand island, and I poured it right over the beef layer.

Finally, the cheddar cheese was added to top it off.

I mixed it all together and bam!  Taco salad was ready.  Does dinner get any easier?

Ah yes, the quick dinner of champions. We did great with our estimates and the taco salad was reminiscent of the one we used to enjoy.  The thousand island dressing seems like an odd choice when looking at the ingredients, but it really goes great and ties the other parts together.   It's a filling dish, though with the thousand island it was of course not the leanest dinner option so I don't imagine myself making this one every week!  I brought some leftovers to work and it kept well, though the following day it was a bit too mushy for my taste.  Another awesome dinner.

Taco Salad Recipe

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
3 cups crushed Doritos
3 cups chopped lettuce
1 cup thousand island dressing
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:

Cook ground beef in a nonstick skillet until browned; season with cumin and chili powder. Crush Doritos and add to a large mixing bowl.  Add lettuce, salad dressing, and cheddar cheese, then mix to combine.