Update and Redux: C – Chocolate might be my husband’s favorite food, but taco salad is his favorite dish. Luckily, it’s mine too. My husband said we did make a mistake on this photo shoot. There is no goat cheese. You have to have the goat cheese. He’s right. Goat cheese makes all the difference in this awesome dish. [We were dating when this post was originally written.]
C – This is my boyfriend’s favorite salad.
It’s funny, he was scared to ask me to make it for him. He was afraid I wasn’t going to do a good job. He even told me this. He has some high standards and he’s had some pretty good taco salads in his day. So, when I wanted to make him one. He was a bit reluctant.
We started with store-bought beef and taco seasoning already mixed in … so I wouldn’t mess it up. The meat IS the most important part of a taco salad. Later, we bought taco seasoning in a package. The all natural stuff. When I read the label, I knew I could do better and it would be cheaper. But, he wasn’t quite ready. We also bought prepared salsa and bottled chipotle-ranch dressing. The dish was good and he loved it.
One day, I ran out of taco seasoning from the package. Here was my chance. I knew I could do a better job at making salsa and I would much rather make my own chipotle-ranch dressing. The dressing cost $8 a bottle, it was only good for two uses and there was something off about it. Besides, it was quite expensive for my taste.
Finally, I was saving money and making everything from scratch. Ever since I started cooking his meals, 90 percent were made-from-scratch meals. Taco salad wasn’t part of that 90 percent, sadly, until now.
I didn’t believe I could make such a good taco salad. If I didn’t tell him about changes I made, he wouldn’t have known the difference. Everything tasted great. He even mentioned how fresh everything tasted.
When I told him I had stopped buying the bottled stuff and made everything myself, he gave me a high five.
| Taco Salad … Fully Loaded |
- 1 small handful cilantro, chopped
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1 jalapeno, top removed, chopped
- 1 chipotle with adobo sauce
- 3 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 lime, juiced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4 tomatoes
- ¼ red onion
- 1 jalapeno
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 Tbsp canola oil
- 1 small handful cilantro, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ red onion, chopped
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp cayenne powder
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp salt, or more to taste, if needed
- 1 tsp fresh ground pepper
- 1 cup water
- Cooked seasoned ground meat
- Chipotle ranch dressing
- Chipotle salsa
- 1 avocado, cubed
- ¼ red onion, chopped
- 2 radishes, julienned
- 2 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
- 2 green onions, chopped
- ½ cup Manchego cheese, shredded
- 2 Romaine lettuce leaves, torn in small pieces
- 1 lime, juiced
- Tortilla chips
- Place cilantro and green onions into a food processor. Chop until fine.
- Add jalapeno and chiptole with adobo sauce. Chop until fine.
- Add mayonnaise. Mix well in processor.
- Add lime, salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Serve with chips or in taco salad.
- Enjoy!
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Drizzle oil over tomatoes, onion, jalapeno and garlic clove.
- Place in oven and roast for 15 minutes. Rotating midway.
- Remove from oven and let cool for five minutes.
- Remove tomato skins and stems. Place in food processor.
- Remove jalapeno skin and stems. Place in food processor.
- Chop until fine.
- Add cilantro. Chop until fine.
- Add lime juice, salt and pepper. Pulse once more.
- Serve with chips or in taco salad.
- Enjoy!
- Mix everything except the beef and the chopped red onions in a small bowl. Set a side.
- In a large saute pan, place 1 tablespoon oil heat on medium high. Add beef and cook until done. About 8 minutes. Drain any excess fat.
- Add onions and cook until soft. About 3 minutes.
- Add seasoning mixture into pan and mix well. Cook until all the liquid has dissolved. About 10 minutes.
- Serve in taco salad.
- Enjoy!
- Place lettuce on the bottom of the bowl.
- Top with 1 cup of cooked beef
- Sprinkle cheese over top.
- Add onions, radishes, avocado, cilantro, green onions and a squeeze of lime juice.
- Top off with chipotle ranch and salsa.
- Serve.
- Enjoy!
Things made from scratch win again. I was surprised at how fast I made everything. Just a few things in a food processor and I was done.
I really enjoy making things from scratch. Especially, when someone enjoys it as much as my boyfriend does.