Good For You Taco Salad

Found this recipe on Recipezaar. Do I find recipes anywhere else?!



Good for You Taco Salad (Recipe #251415)

Ingredient amounts are approximate. There are lots of optional ingredients, depending on what you like. Feel free to substitute an equal amount of bottled vinaigrette for the oil and vinegar.

by Maito

Dressing

• 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice (or more)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or any other kind vinegar
• 1 pinch garlic powder
• 1 pinch ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons salsa
• 2 tablespoons nonfat yogurt (optional) or nonfat sour cream (optional)

Salad

• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed (you can also use black or any other type of beans)
• 1/2-1 avocados, diced
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped
• 5 ounces romaine lettuce or butter lettuce
• 2 carrots, sliced
• baked corn tortilla chips

Optional toppings

• very lean ground turkey, cooked with (optional)
• taco seasoning (optional)
• basil (optional)
• green onion (optional) or chives, chopped (optional)
• toasted pepitas (optional)
• black olives (optional)
• low-fat cheese, shredded (optional)
• jalapeno, seeded and minced (optional)
• 1 can corn, drained and rinsed

Directions:

1. Mix dressing ingredients.
2. Put all desired salad ingredients in a large glass bowl. Toss with dressing (you may not need all of it) and top with baked chips. Serve additional chips on the side.

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This salad was really good and really easy. I will definitely be making it again!

When making this recipe I added 1/2 lb. ground hamburger cooked with taco seasoning, a can of black beans, 2 green onions, 1 can of corn, about 1/2-3/4 of a can of olives. I also omitted the carrots in the salad recipe, and used Roma tomatoes, rather than cherry tomatoes. I also added more cilantro than it called for. Only 1/2 a cup of cilantro?! That's barely enough to nasty your mouth! We like our cilantro! In the dressing recipe I doubled the amount of fresh lime juice. We felt that it could have used even more, so if you like lime don't be shy with the juice.

While I was working on the salad, my husband thought it would be fun to try and make taco bowls out of tortillas by molding them in a glass bowl with an empty can in the middle and dunking them in the deep fryer. They didn't turn out too bad! Not perfect, but they looked kinda festive.

So, for the record, this taco salad was really, really yummy and easy! 5 stars!

Southwest Rice and Bean Salad

I had something specific in mind for dinner last night, but I came across this recipe mid-afternoon and decided I had to try it.

It went together really easily. I would probably use less rice in the future, though. Five cups is a lot, even when you're mixing lots of other stuff in. I wanted to use brown rice, but we were out of it. It would probably be even yummier with brown vs. white rice.

I made a few modifications from the original recipe, based on what I had at home already. Overall, it was really yummy, did well as leftovers, and got about 4.5 stars. I really really liked it, but my husband said only 4 stars -- it would be 5 if it didn't have the rice, he said (he doesn't like rice).

A couple of quick notes: the salad comes out tasting surprisingly sweet, due to the brown sugar in the dressing. It's really different, and yummy. Also, the chicken breasts I had in the freezer were the flat single-serving cutlet-style breasts, not full sized ones. Two wasn't enough. If that's the kind you have, go with three or four.

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5 cups cooked rice, warm or at room temperature
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups cooked, cubed chicken
1 can corn, drained
4 green onions, chopped (I didn't have green onions, so I used about 1/4 cup chopped red onion)

Dressing:
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2/3 cup canola oil (I used vegetable oil)
4 pickled jalepeño pepper rounds (I used about 2/3 of a can of diced green chilies instead)
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin

Combine all of the salad ingredients together in a large bowl. Combine dressing ingredients in blender until peppers are finely minced. Toss with salad. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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Challenge Ingredient: Kidney Beans

Now that Fall is upon us, the time for making stews, soups and chilis has come! So, what better ingredient to feature than our high-fiber, protein-packed, heart-healthy friend-- the KIDNEY BEAN?


To get your creative juices flowin', here is a list of quick serving ideas from WHFoods.com:

• Combine cooked kidney beans with black beans and white beans to make a colorful three bean salad. Mix with tomatos and scallions and dress with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and black pepper.

• Serve cooked kidney beans over a piece of cornbread and top with grated cheese for a twist on the traditional tamale pie.

• In a food processor or blender, combine cooked kidney beans with garlic, cumin and chili peppers for a delicious spread that can be used as a crudité dip or sandwich filling.

• Make a pot of chili, the hearty Mexican soup that traditionally features kidney beans.

• Make tacos with a vegetarian twist by using kidney beans in place of ground meat.

Have fun with this week's ingredient, and get your recipes posted by next Sunday. Have a great week!

Note: Sorry for the delay in posting the new challenge. In the words of Andie Anderson, "Do you think I'm some kind of mental person?!" I think so! I've been such a space case lately! Hopefully I can get my act together sooner than later.