Fiesta Taco Salad.

I was out of town this weekend on a much-anticipated national-parks tour with my father – we had a great time!  On the way home, our first flight out of South Dakota was delayed, so I missed my connection, but this turned out to be a blessing in disguise; because of my delay, we were able to enjoy lunch together before parting in Minneapolis to go our separate ways.  It was a fantastic weekend teeming with memories!

This flight delay, however, meant that by the time I got home, dinnertime was nigh, and my energy level was lower than it should’ve been.  (I don’t know what it is about flying; I always manage to deplane with jet lag, even when I’m flying within one time zone!  Alas.)  But I was just dying for a home-cooked meal after a weekend of eating out every night, so I knew I wanted to get into the kitchen, energy or no energy.

I’ve had this Fiesta Taco Salad recipe on my To-Try list for a couple of weeks now, and last night was the perfect time to do so!  Since LeeLee was a bachelor all weekend, the cupboards were pretty bare, so I swung by Safeway for a quick refill and got everything I needed to take this taco salad to the next level.

I sautéed the Morningstar Farms “beef” crumbles with a packet of taco seasoning and put a can of pinto beans in a saucepan to warm up.  (The original recipe seems to serve the beans – kidney, in its case – cold, but I thought the warmth would serve as a nice contrast to the cold salad ingredients.)  While those were cooking, I put some Mission tortilla-chip strips (instead of the Doritos that the recipe called for) on two plates, topped each with a hearty serving of lettuce, and diced a tomato for us to top our salads once everything else was ready.  LeeLee arrived back home just as the cooked ingredients were ready (typical! ;)), and we added a couple of dollops of each to our plates and topped it with the tomatoes, black olives, Mexican cheese blend, sour cream, and hot sauce.  Dinner was served!

… and boy was it good.  I love a hearty dinner salad, and this one hit the spot.  The meal was so flavorful by itself that LeeLee didn’t even use any salad dressing; I topped mine with a bit of Thousand Island (as opposed to the Catalina that the recipe called for).  And it was so filling that neither of us went back into the kitchen to snack later in the night.  Paired with a Corona, it was a perfect meal!

:)