Taco Salad

After all of the sweets I ate for Valentine's day, my body was craving a salad.  Does that ever happen to you, or am I the only one who craves a salad?

But I wanted a salad with substance.  A salad with meat!

Enter the taco salad!  It has meat and beans, but is also loaded with tomatoes, avocado, cilantro and romaine lettuce too.  It can be topped with some freshly grated cheddar and a dollop of sour cream.  But if you are avoiding dairy, those ingredients are easily left out!

Taco Salad
Inspired by Clean Eating's "Taco" Bowl Recipe (Jan/Feb 2012 issue)
Ingredients:
For Rice:
2 C brown rice, cooked
4 oz Ro-Tel Tomato Sauce
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp oregano

For "Salad":
1 lb extra lean ground beef
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 C water
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 head romaine lettuce, washed and chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 C fresh cilantro, chopped
juice from 1 lime
1/2 avocado, cubed
optional: sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt), grated cheddar or Monterey Jack
Instructions:
Combine the rice with the remaining ingredients in a sauce pan over med-lo heat.  Heat through, and then remove from heat and set aside.

In a large skillet or stock pot, cook the ground beef until brown.  Add onion powder and the next 5 ingredients.  Stir to combine and evenly coat the beef with the spices.  (If desired, add 3-4 T of Ro-Tel Sauce to meat mixture).  Add in the beans and stir in the rice mixture.

Scoop our desired amount of rice and meat mixture and place on dish or in bowl.  Top with lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice and avocado cubes.  Serve with sour cream and grated cheese if desired!

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