Something Quick: Samye's Taco Salad

Chase's mom Samye came up to visit us in September (was it really that long ago?) and one night she made this for dinner. Chase of course had eaten it many times before, but I hadn't. I was skeptical of 1000 Island dressing on taco fixin's, although it explained why Chase dips his tacos in it. And yet ... IT WAS DELICIOUS.

Then again, you can't really go wrong with Fritos and a mom's cooking.

I had been craving it since then, and I finally broke one day a couple of weeks ago and told Chase we were having it for dinner. He did not protest.

We use a bit less 1000 Island than Samye does, but it's a recipe that's easily made to any taste.

And just easily made.

Happy cooking!

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Samye's Taco Salad

Ingredients

1 lb ground meat

½ - 1 cup 1000 Island dressing

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 can black beans, drained

1 can black olives, chopped

1 cup chopped lettuce

2 large tomatoes, diced

1 10-oz bag Fritos

1 packet taco seasoning

Directions

1. Brown the ground meat and season with taco seasoning according to package directions.

2. For the vegetarian version, use

½ packet of taco seasoning mixed into the drained black beans.

3. In a large mixing bowl, toss lettuce, tomato, olives, beans and cheese.

4. Add half of the bag of Fritos to the veggie mix, crunching the chips slightly in your hands as you add them.

5. Toss the veggie mix in the 1000 Island.

6. Stir about two-thirds of the taco meat into the mix.

7. To serve, place a handful of the remaining Fritos on a plate. Top with a heaping scoop of the salad mix and sprinkle with extra taco meat.

8. As always, enjoy!

Salad mix, all mixed.

Ready for eating. It's just that easy.

Now that's some happy cooking! :)

Something New: Seven Layer Dip

I had a great night Wednesday, eating ice cream and chatting for 3+ hours with a new friend (hooray!) But that means that I didn't get home until bedtime, and didn't quite feel like writing a blog post with work dauntingly few hours away.

Such is life, food friends.

But I am delivering your new recipe now, and it's a good one! And by good, I mean simple to make and one of the best leftovers to take to work (after cold pizza).

I'm labeling this as an entrée because we added taco meat to a generally vegetarian dish. But you can just as easily leave out the beef if you want something vegetarian, or something appetizer-ian. Just mix the taco seasoning packet into sour cream!

Speaking of vegetarian: I recommend getting vegetarian refried beans over "original" if you have a choice. The "original" beans usually contain lard :/

On that note, enough chatting from me. Happy cooking!

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Seven Layer Dip

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef

2 avocados

1 (8 oz) container sour cream

1-2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 Tbsp chopped green onions

¼ cup salsa

⅛ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp black pepper

1 packet taco seasoning

1 can refried beans

1 can black olives, chopped

2 cups shredded cheese

Directions

1. Brown the ground beef, then add taco seasoning according to package directions.

2. Half the avocados and scoop out the flesh. Place in a large bowl and mash.

3. Stir in lime juice, cilantro, salsa, garlic powder, and pepper. Set aside.

4. Once the beef is cooked, seasoned and still hot, place it in the bottom of a glass casserole dish.

5. Layer the cheese on top, then refried beans, avocado mix (guacamole!), and sour cream. Garnish with green onions and olives.

6. Serve with tortilla chips. Store in the refrigerator and reheat as great leftover.

Beef, melty cheese, and beans.

Guac on top.

Rainbow of deliciousness.

Happy cooking!

Something Old: Mexican Cornbread Casserole

Hello friends! Hope everyone's week has been a pleasant one. Not much to report on this end. I just keep working and working and working. My loftiest goal for today (Sunday) is to write all the blog posts for this week in one fell swoop. Or three fell swoops.

I'm going to need some caffeine.

This week's Something Old is a dear recipe to Chase and I. As you'll see below, it was a milestone in our relationship to each other and to cooking.

Oh, and it's delicious.

Happy cooking!

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Mexican Cornbread November 2, 2009

The entire month of October flew by without a single posted recipe. Not that I didn't cook. In fact, I have at least 5 new recipes to share!

And I'll start with this one, a recipe from Chase's family. This is in fact the first food from his family recipes that Chase ever shared with me. It was a few months after we started dating and he was so nervous to share it, afraid I wouldn't like it. But he never had to worry. It is delicious.

Now this is one of my favorite quick and easy recipes, and it makes some of the best leftovers. I’m so glad Chase shared!

Don't know why I only took one picture, though ...

Recipe time!

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef

1 packet taco seasoning

1 box Jiffy cornbread mix

1 egg

⅓ cup milk

1 can refried beans (16 oz)

1 cup shredded cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Brown the ground beef. While it is browning, prepare the Jiffy mix according to package directions.

3. When the meat done browning, add the taco seasoning according to package directions.

4. Place the seasoned beef in the bottom of a cooking-sprayed casserole dish.

5. Carefully spread the beans on top of the beef, then sprinkle the cheese over the beans. Finally, pour the prepared cornbread mix over the top.

6. Bake for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the cornbread comes out clean.

7. Serve and enjoy.