Does anybody really want to eat a plain salad? For most of us, the idea of a salad is synonymous with healthy eating and denying ourselves all the delicious flavors that food has to offer. You know what we’re talking about: kale, greens, broccoli, cucumber, dressing on the side. Don’t get us wrong, it’s great to eat healthy. Still, we’re here to rescue the idea that salads always have to boring or not taste good. As it turns out, the salad is just another food delivery system that changes based on what ingredients you put in it. And we’ve got some great ones today.
Because it’s summer now, you probably need to come up with some exciting side dishes for your summer barbecues and backyard parties. Although the chips and dip are always a mainstay, it’s nice to add in at least some veggies. With that in mind, this delicious taco salad is a great addition to your picnic table. Oh, and it’s a taco salad that includes Doritos in it—did we mention that? Maybe chips and dip and salad are closer than we thought after all! Let’s get started.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 1 pound of lean ground beef
- 1 packet of taco seasoning
- 2/3 cup of water
- 1 head of iceberg lettuce, chopped
- 1 red or orange pepper, chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 1/2 cup of sliced black olives
- 1 can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup of diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup of thinly chopped green onions
- 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 ounce of Nacho-flavored Doritos
- 16 ounces of Catalina salad dressing
- sour cream
Here’s what you do:
1. Start by getting a skillet going over medium-high heat. Add in your ground beef and break it up, browning it all until it’s completely cooked through and there’s no more pink in it. When it’s done, take it off the heat and drain the fat out of it, leaving the meat in the pan.
2. At this point, add in your packet of taco seasoning as well as your water. Let it simmer so that it thickens (for approximately five minutes). Once it’s done, set it aside so it can cool off.
3. Chop up your lettuce, tomatoes and peppers as you see fit and throw them in a large mixing bowl. Add your black olives, drained pinto beans, tomatoes, cheddar and green onions as well, tossing everything together so that it’s well-combined.
4. Top the whole thing with your cooked beef. After that, get your Doritos and crunch them up so that they’re the size and texture that you prefer before adding them on top as well. Drizzle in your Catalina dressing as well and toss the bowl to coat everything evenly.
5. With all the ingredients combined, you’re ready to serve! Garnish the bowls with sour cream and any extra green onions you may have as well.
As you can see, not every salad has to be boring—this one is more like a giant bowl of walking tacos! While this dish does get some of your vegetables in, it also includes some hearty ground beef and tangy, cheesy Doritos as well. The one thing to note about this one is that you should add your chips into the salad as late as possible—the longer they’re in there with all that moisture, the more likely they are to get soggy. Enjoy!
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