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!

Updated: I'm linking up to the linky party at Delightful Order

Sugar Snap Pea Salad

I made this recipe as a side for my yummy bacon cheesburgers over the Memorial Day weekend.  But I could easily make this salad on a weeknight to go with grilled chicken or some other simple main dish.

Suprisingly, this recipe was in the December 2010 issue of Family Circle. But I definitely think it is a spring/summer salad! 

Sugar Snap Pea Salad

Ingredients

• 1/4  cup  white balsamic vinegar
• 2  teaspoons  Dijon mustard
• 1/8  teaspoon  salt
• 1/8  teaspoon  black pepper
• 3/4  cup  extra-virgin olive oil
• 2  teaspoons  chopped fresh oregano
• 1 1/2  pounds  sugar snap peas, strings removed
• 2  cups  grape tomatoes, halved
• 8  ounces  bocconcini (small mozzarella nuggets), drained
• 1  cup  slivered baby carrots
• 1/2  cup  pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
• 1/3  cup  cup slivered red onion

Directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Drizzle in olive oil, whisking constantly. Stir in oregano. Cover and set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high
heat. Add snap peas and simmer 4 minutes, until crisp-tender. Drain and rinse under cold water.
3. Place snap peas in a large bowl. Add tomatoes, bocconcini,
carrots, olives and red onion. Toss with 1/3 cup of the dressing.

My variation:  I didn't have white balsamic vinegar, nor did I want to buy it.  I substituted white wine vinegar and a touch of balsamic vinegar instead.  Instead of bocconcini, I just used sliced fresh mozzerella. 

 

Verdict: Oh Yum!  It was so good.  The Husband and Toddler loved it.  So did my mother and father in-law! 

Friday Edition: Yummy Finds

I have been waiting for the weekend to come!  It's a three day weekend and I am looking forward to relaxing, spending time with family and friends, and going to a cookout and parade.  I hope you have some fun things planned as well.

Since Memorial Day weekend usually involves cookouts, BBQs and get togethers, I thought a round-up of some yummy looking salads would be great!  I know there are two potato salads, but what can I say - it's a favorite!  Let me know if you try any of them.

Potato Salad with Sour Cream and Scallions

source: Martha Stewart



Radiance Fruit Salad

source: Foodnetwork.com

Spring Garden Potato Salad

Source: Foodnetwork.com

Wednesday Edition: What's New

This week's new ingredient is wax beans!  Maybe wax beans aren't so new to a lot of people, but I really don't remember ever cooking them or adding them as an ingredient to a recipe.

For those who are unfamiliar with a wax bean, let me provide a great description: it is a green bean that is yellow in color!

Wax Beans uploaded to flickr.com by giffconstable

I used wax beans in a recipe I found in an old issue of Everyday Food magazine:

Three Bean Salad with Vinaigrette
Ingredients

• 8 ounces green beans, stem ends removed, halved on the diagonal
• 4 ounces yellow wax beans, stem ends removed, halved on the diagonal
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

 Directions

1. Fill a large bowl with ice water; set aside. Set a steamer basket in a large pot with a lid. Fill with enough water to come just below basket; bring to a boil.
2. Place green and wax beans in basket; reduce heat to a simmer. Cover pot, and steam until beans are crisp-tender, 6 to 8 minutes. With tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer beans to ice water. Drain, and pat dry.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together mustard, vinegar, and oil; season with salt and pepper. Add green, wax, and cannellini beans; toss to coat. If storing, cover and refrigerate up to 1 day; bring to room temperature before serving.

My modifications: I searched high and low for fresh waxed beans and could not find them.  Maybe it is too early in the season?  So then I tried to find frozen wax beans.  I knew I had seen a bag of "mixed beans" at my local Stop and Shop.  But I guess it is a popular item since it was out of stock over the weekend.  My last resort was canned.  I normally do not buy canned veggies since they are so high in sodium and do not taste "fresh" but this time I made an exception when I found a can of mixed green beans and wax beans!  So I subbed 1 can for the fresh beans called in the recipe above.

I think it came out pretty good, but it would definitely be better with fresh beans!

Do you have any recipes that call for wax beans?  Are they a "staple" at your house?