the ultimate frito taco salad

well, it's been quite sometime since our last post! instead of catching you up on the happenings, let's just get right down to business, shall we? basically, we still love cooking and baking and all things food related, and we love that you love our recipes! and after many requests from our dear friends, neighbors, and acquaintances, we're back!

i (laura here ;) ) recently attended a mission farewell for a darling neighbor and this is the taco salad that was served there. now I know you've made taco salad a million times in a million variations, but this one tops them all. this meat/rice mixture is to die for, and it even makes a perfect dip for those extra fritos you didn't crunch up into your salad. I made a ton with the intention of freezing it....and that didn't even happen because we ate it for leftovers for the next several days! it's delicious with the meat and rice combo and the sugar cuts that acidity of the tomato sauce nicely, go try it. I bet you have most of the ingredients already on hand!

the ultimate frito taco salad

1/2 medium onion, diced finely
1 lb ground turkey (or hamburger, your decision)
1 can tomato paste
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
3 cans water
3 Tbsp sugar
1 clove garlic
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1 cup rice, cooked (measure out 1 cup rice, then cook as desired. i always use my instant pot to cook the rice quickly just in time to add it into this recipe!)

romaine Lettuce, chopped
tomatoes
fritos
ranch dressing (good dressing is a must! we like BYU ranch but we also love our own homemade version when there is time for that!)
beans (optional)
corn (optional)
green onions, chopped (optional)
black olives, chopped (optional)

saute onion until soft and translucent, then add ground turkey (or hamburger) and brown. then stir together all sauce and seasonings, except rice, and simmer for 5-10 minutes. then add cooked rice and simmer for an additional 20 minutes on very low heat, stirring often. The original recipe called for 1 cup cooked rice, but I accidentally measure it as dry, then cooked it. it added quite a bit more rice to the mixture, which i prefer now. use as much rice/meat ratio as you desire. Make sure to watch that the rice doesn't burn on the bottom of the pan, as it has a tendency to settle as it cooks. then serve over your choice of taco salad ingredients!

Comments

sunday slow cooker: red beans and rice

in honor of mardi gras this year i made red beans and rice from scratch. i am grateful to say that 6 years of my life took place in new orleans, la. well, actually it was 5 years and 1 month + 11 months while we were displaced because of hurricane katrina, but we won't talk about that. and during those 11 months in utah my heart was still in new orleans. in case you're not familiar with new orleans, their claim to fame is FOOD. and no ordinary food will do, no no no. it must be GREAT FOOD. and believe me, we had GREAT FOOD while we lived there. and lots of it. one of our favorite dishes was red beans and rice. now that we don't live in new orleans, it's not as convenient to just run to the store and buy a can of already prepared Blue Runner beans. so, i decided to come up with a recipe all on my own that used the slow cooker (it was sunday dinner and now with 1 o'clock church i'm using my slow cooke...

heart cookies

got this recipe from martha for valentine's day. it is a mix between an oatmeal cookie and a shortbread cookie and oh so yummy. i'll be taking these to a preschool party and around to some of my friends tomorrow. they are reminiscent of graham crackers and chocolate frosting, which my husband and kids love, so i'm hoping they enjoy these. the dough turned out be a bit different than the recipe claims, but i made it work. i've changed the recipe only slightly-i dipped the hearts in melted chocolate chips rather than sandwiching nutella between two cookies. one great tip on melting chocolate is do it in the microwave! it's so easy and you don't have to worry about a double-boiler and all that clean up. ina garten, the barefoot contessa and one of my cooking idols, gives a great explanation on how to do it here . i'm sure the nutella way would be good, too. it's just not something i regularly have in my pan...

white chicken chili

this is the chili of winners. my friend made this last year for a halloween chili cook off and won the "most-unique" prize. to me that means, "better-than-your-average-beef-and-bean chili" award. it really is. the original recipe comes from cha cha . "who's cha cha" you ask? who knows. but she's come up with a mighty fine white chicken chili recipe. be sure to bake up some cornbread and serve it with the chili. (i finally found my favorite cornbread recipe the other day and must share on another post!) i have posted my version of the recipe, with only a few adjustments to the spiciness. happy chili cookin'! 1 Tbsp vegetable oil 1 onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 tsp fresh jalapeno, finely chopped 1 (4 oz) can chopped green chile peppers 2 tsp ground cumin ...

a new nothing with a speckled handle

Search This Blog