Simple Saturday: Quick and Easy Taco Salad

If you can imagine a crazy woman (probably with her coat still on), rushing around her kitchen to make dinner, then you get a pretty good idea of what my every night looks like.  On a good night I get home around 6 but most nights when I go to the gym after work it’s after 7 that I get home.  That gives me approximately 18.4 minutes to make dinner and eat before I’m likely to have a meltdown from hangriness.

This has gotten even worse lately because I haven’t been much into afternoon snacking.  I get so hungry for lunch that I eat a monster-sized lunch and don’t feel hungry for hours.  Then I get home, make a mess in my kitchen, eat a ton more, and get that fun pregnancy heartburn.  It’s a joy.

SO when I get home and need dinner like fifteen minutes ago, I need a meal that is quick and easy to make.  Enter: taco salads.  A.k.a. my fallback weekday meal.  It’s pretty much just an entire taco with extra lettuce, all chopped up, on a plate.  I don’t even make any fancy dressing for it – just salsa and sour cream.  But I’m telling you – this is one of both Marc and I’s favorite dinners.  Every time I make it, I wonder why I don’t make it every night.  It’s easy, filling, you guys – it’s so customizeable!

Some nights I add a ton of cheese on top and skip the avocado.  Sometimes I use taco chicken instead of ground beef.  I’ve also been known to add black beans and leftover rice or quinoa, too.  So many options.

Best yet – this meal is 100% Simple Saturday approved.  The ingredient list might be a bit longer but promise – these will take no longer than 30 minutes.  You can also use a packet of taco seasoning for the beef, but I typically forget to buy one so I’ll just make my own taco seasoning.

Other tips on making this a quicker dinner:

• Chopping up your veggies the night before.
• Use pre-made guacamole instead of avocado to cut down on that prep time.
• Use bagged romaine instead of chopping your own

Like this recipe?  Then you’ll love these, too:

Southwestern Chopped Chicken Salad

Slow Cooker Taco Chicken

Taco Soup

Fish Tacos with Avocado and Corn Salsa

20 Minute Taco Salad

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Yields 4

10 minPrep Time

10 minCook Time

20 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1 cup corn (I used frozen and just heated it in the microwave for 2 minutes)
• salsa, for topping
• sour cream, for topping
• tortilla chips, crushed for topping
• green onions, for topping
• shredded Cheddar cheese, for topping
• 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce (you can use bagged or chop your own)

Instructions

1. In large skillet over medium-high heat, add ground beef.
2. Cook, breaking into small pieces, until no longer pink.
3. Meanwhile, you can cut up the tomatoes and avocado and crush the tortilla chips.
4. Once beef is cooked, add the seasonings and stir to evenly distribute.
5. Place 2 cups of lettuce onto each plate, then top with ~1/2 cup beef, tomatoes, avocado, corn, salsa, sour cream, tortilla chips, and green onions.
6. Serve and enjoy!

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