Easy Taco Salad

Hi ... I have shared this before, but things are hectic right now so I decided to share it again for something more cheerful on my blog.  This is an easy and fun meal to make!

Easy Taco Salad

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

This is super easy to make and it tastes great.  My taco salad is quite a crowd-pleaser, but it isn't thrifty, unless you can get everything on sale.  It is probably super high in fat and calories, but you can make your own adjustments for that.  This is how I make it:

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

You also need a can of olives, sliced.  And an onion chopped up and cooked with the hamburger.  I forgot to take an action shot of chopping up the onion.  That is two sacks of salad, by the way (or one big one).  Oh, you also need a couple of tomatoes. 

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Brown 2 pounds of lean hamburger and the onion.  When it is brown, drain off the fat and add the packet of taco seasoning and mix well.  Don't follow the recipe on the back of the package.  If you need to add a teeny bit of water, that is okay though.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

I usually mix this part all up in my big spaghetti pot, but it was dirty.  So I grabbed two big bowls and made two separate batches ... one to eat now and one for later.  (I didn't add the salad dressing to the one for later, that makes it really soggy.  Good, but soggy.)

Pour a bunch of tortilla chips into the bottom of your bowl.  Take a cup or small glass and crush them down into little pieces.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Add your seasoned hamburger and onion mix to your chips and stir well.  I'm switching to the green bowl now, for better pictures.  I always strive for beauty in the tiniest places.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Grate up a bunch of cheese and mix it in well with the other stuff.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Add your salad and combine everything.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

For this size of bowl, add 1/2 bottle of Catalina dressing.  There is also a sweet and spicy option, if you can find it.  If I had my clean spaghetti pot, I would have put everything in there, including the whole bottle of dressing.  Then, for serving, I would have transferred everything to a pretty bowl. 

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Top with sour cream, guacamole or fresh avocados, olives and more chips.  This part of the post seems to be a "do what I say, not as I do"!  I really wasn't in the mood to cook that day, but did it for my Cary.  I figured that while I was at it, I'd might as well take pictures of my project.

I put the rest in a gallon Zip Lock freezer bag, and we are eating it when we get the urge ... just adding a bit of dressing as we go.

Enjoy!  

Kathy M.

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