Taco Salad

Not to be confused with Macho Salad
B. and I showed up late to a potluck over the holidays, and so we were left with most of our contribution of guacamole (don't ask me for the recipe! It was all by taste) and tortilla chips to take home.

Of course, I could've just easily munched on guacamole and chips for a few days (or hours... have you seen me next to a bag of chips? Dangerous.) but I wanted something a little more substantial. Inspired by the taco salad that I saw my coworkers eating a few days before from the work cafeteria, I decided to whip up my own.

The great thing about taco salad is that it's completely customizable. The best way to serve it is just to lay out all your favourite fixings and let everyone make their own.


We had the aforementioned guacamole, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, red peppers, red onions, cilantro, sweet and spicy salsa from Innisfail Growers and cayenne and green peppercorn gouda from Sylvan Star Cheese.

Of course, the most important ingredient is the seasoned ground beef. Usually I'd be inclined to just open a bag of taco seasoning, but B. found a recipe in his copy of the Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001-2011 and we were lucky to have all the spices in our kitchen already. It was *so* good, and so nice to know what's in it!

Taco Meat
Adapted from Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001-2011
Makes 4 servings

• 1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil
  
• 1 onion, minced
  
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) chili powder
  
• 1 tsp (5 mL) cumin
  
• 1 tsp (5 mL) coriander
  
• ½ tsp (2 mL) oregano
  
• ¼ tsp (1 mL) cayenne pepper
  
• 1 lb (454 g) extra-lean ground beef
  
• ½ cup (125 mL) tomato sauce
  
• ½ cup (125 mL) low-sodium chicken broth
  
• 2 tsp (10 mL) cider vinegar
  
• 1 tsp (5 mL) light brown sugar

1. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and spices, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
   
2. Stir in ground beef and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
   
3. Stir in tomato sauce, broth, vinegar and sugar. Simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes.
   
4. Serve taco meat in tacos, or use as topping in taco salad.

Nutrition Info (per serving): 273 calories, 14 g fat (5 g saturated), 73 mg cholesterol, 9 g carbohydrate (3 g fibre, 4 g sugar), 25 g protein, 372 mg sodium. An excellent source of niacin (vitamin B₃), vitamin B₆, vitamin B₁₂, vitamin E, iron, potassium, zinc and selenium. A good source of riboflavin (vitamin B₂), magnesium, phosphorus and manganese.