Hola mi amigos!
Thank God it’s el Friday-o, no?*
*Be jealous…my Spanish skills are muy impressive-o!
And since my bilingual talents pretty much stop there, I’ll do my best to keep the rest of this post in English! 😉
Remember the taco salad I posted for WIAW?
Yeah, that one?
Well, I polished off the last of the leftovers yesterday and I have to admit, today’s lunch just wasn’t as exciting…
That may or may not have to do with the fact that I had yet ANOTHER battle with Willie the Waffle Maker. Only this time, the chopsticks were no help and I had to resort to a bowl of cereal instead…delicious, but SO not the waffle I was dreaming of!
But anywho! No more wallowing in waffle pity…
Let’s talk tacos!
I LOVE Mexican food, and one of my favorite dishes is taco salad. But, as most of you know, chain restaurants tend to go with cheap ingredients, so when you order a taco salad, you usually end up with ground meat stuffed in a fried taco bowl topped with cheese, iceberg lettuce and (if your lucky) a few tomato slices.
So basically you have a bowl of greasy salty fat with lettuce that tastes like water…
Umm, no thank you!
But not if you make it home!
By choosing a lean beef (or turkey), you can cut the saturated fat in HALF, and with the right amount of add-ins and spices, you won’t even miss the cheese! Then you get the fun of “decorating” your salad with healthy and delicious toppings!
Now isn’t that just a work of art? 🙂
Healthified Taco Salad
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25-30 minutes
Keywords: saute entree paleo high protein low-carb ground beef Mexican
Ingredients (Serves 4)
- 1 pound lean ground beef (or turkey)
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- 1 cup diced bell pepper
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- 1 8oz can no-salt added tomato sauce
- 1 cup enchilada sauce*
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- Mrs. Dash salt-free seasoning to taste (optional)
Instructions
1. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add ground beef and, using a wooden spoon or spatula, break up and stir the meat while cooking until no pink remains (about 10 minutes).
3. Drain all but about a tablespoon of grease from skillet and transfer browned meat to a plate or dish.
4. Add veggies to skillet and saute until tender (about 7-8 minutes).
5. Transfer beef (or turkey) back to the pan, add tomato sauce, enchilada sauce, and spices.
6. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and allow to cook 10 minutes.
7. Serve over lettuce and/or crumbled tortilla chips (or even better, Popchips!) and add desired toppings.
Nutritionals of meat only before salad toppings:
Under 500mg of sodium per serving? I’d like to see a Mexican restaurant do THAT!
Just be sure to find a good enchilada sauce that’s not too high in sodium. And something you may not know…usually, the spicier it is, the higher the salt content. Trader Joe’s has a great enchilada sauce without the sketchy ingredients…but if your lucky you have a Big Lots near and you can snatch yourself up one of these:
It comes in a bottle…but not with a straw…I’m perplexed!
But if it’s still not spicy enough for you, add some cayenne, a bit of hot sauce, or some of this:
Mrs. Dash really should pay me for all the advertising I do for them! 😉
So who’s making tacos this weekend?
Or more importantly, what time should I show up? 😉
What is your favorite Mexican dish?
What would you top your taco salad with?
