Taco Salad

Taco salad

taco salad with sauce

Who says that organic, vegetarian food has to be boring? Tonight we had a taco salad for dinner. The onions and tomatoes came from our garden. The leaf lettuce, scarlet mustard greens, kale, icicle and globe radishes, and the sweet red pepper came from a friend's organic farm. The tortilla chips were made in the store at the Latino market. I made the enchilada/taco sauce from peppers from our garden. Pretty local food.

Taco Salad

Put 1/2 cup TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein) in bowl and add 1 cup water. Let it hydrate. Put olive oil in a skillet, add hydrated TVP and taco seasoning powder. You may need more water to make a sauce like consistency. OR you can use a ground meat of your choice for your taco meat. Brown meat, add taco seasoning, according to directions. Simmer 10 minutes or so.

Fill two large meal size bowls with lettuce, and or greens (leaf lettuce, iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, kale, spinach, mustard greens).

Sprinkle taco "meat" onto salads.
Add a handful of beans (black beans, pinto beans) to each bowl.
Slice radishes and add to bowls.
Chop onions and add some to each bowl.
Line edge of bowls with tortilla chips.
Add grated cheddar or pepper jack cheese to salads.
Slice and add tomatoes and olives to salads.
Top with a salsa.
Enjoy your healthy meal (minus the red meat of course).

I use a variety of vegetables that I have on hand to fill my salads. Carrots, corn...whatever.