I always forget how much I love taco salads. You can put anything you want in them, but I pretty much always stick to the basics of a good taco salad. I recently made this for a friend of mine for dinner. The only thing missing was a margarita. Why didn’t I make us margaritas??!! You know me and my spice…..I would’ve liked this super hotsy totsy, where the sweat beads are forming on your forehead, soaking your tongue in a glass of cold water, mouth burning, nose sniffling….you get the idea. But I always keep it on the milder side for guests. I think I have mentioned before that most of my friends are wimps. I say this with a lot of love!! 🙂

So, I usually serve this in a big ol “bowl” made from a flour tortilla. I’m sure you all are familiar with those. But sometimes I just serve the salad on a chilled plate. The dressing is the key here. My favorite is simply a bottled Italian dressing mixed with a packet of taco seasoning. Yes, seriously! It’s really delicious. I’ve listed some variations that I use, below. You will like them all, really! I love this salad with ground beef, chicken, some leftover steak, shrimp, or meatless. Do whatever you want! Get the blender out, make some margaritas, make the taco salad. It’s delicioso!!!

Taco Salad

serving for 4

4 bunches of romaine lettuce or your favorite lettuce, mix it up!
1 can of pinto or kidney beans, drained
1/2 cup of black olive slices
1 large tomato, diced
1 avocado, diced
2 bunches of green onions, sliced
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
pickled jalapeno slices (optional) BE BRAVE, BE ADVENTUROUS!
cooked ground beef (I cook mine with some taco seasoning in it)
or you can use chicken, shrimp, salmon, steak
sour cream

Toss everything together in a big, big, bowl………HUGE bowl. Drizzle the dressing in and  toss some more. Dish it onto a plate and top with a dollop of sour cream and a sprig of cilantro. YUMMMMMMM.

Taco Salad Dressings

1 bottle of good Italian dressing mixed with 1 packet of taco seasoning (my go to dressing)

1 bottle of Ranch Dressing mixed with 1 packet of taco seasoning (ohhhhh, I LOVE)

1 bottle of Italian or Ranch dressing, 1 tablespoon of taco seasoning and 1 chipotle chili pepper (canned) ohhhhhhh, I love this one too

1 8 oz container of sour cream,  mixed with 1 packet of taco seasoning, juice of 2 limes (ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I REALLY love)