South of the Border

I saved a Cooking Light recipe ages ago and finally got around to trying it tonight. Nick and I both really enjoy Mexican food and we usually make fajitas, but this recipe for taco salad sounded insanely good and I couldn't wait to make it! The only things I changed were ommitting the chili powder and cumin per Nick's request, and ommitting the chopped tomato because I hate tomatoes. This turned out fabulous and Nick said, "This is a keeper, honny... definitely an 'A' meal". Cha ching! We'll be saving this recipe :)

I made tortilla bowls using fajita wraps that we had in the house. They were super easy to make - I inverted two ramekin cups on a baking pan, coated them with cooking spray and laid the tortillas on top. I brushed them with some olive oil and baked them at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes, until browned and crispy.


Taco Rice Salad

Cooking spray
1 lb. ground beef
1 garlic clove, minced
3 cups cooked yellow rice (I used brown rice)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
6 cups torn romaine lettuce (about 10 oz.)
3 cups chopped tomato (about 1-1/4 lbs)
1 cup frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 (15-oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

Dressing:
2/3 cup fat-free sour cream
2/3 cup salsa
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin

Remaining ingredient:
1/2 cup (2 oz) reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese

To prepare salad, heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add beef and garlic, and cook until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain; return beef mixture to pan. Stir in rice through next 4 ingredients (through pepper). Cool slightly. Combine lettuce and next 4 ingredients (through beans) in a large bowl; toss to combine.

To prepare dressing, combine sour cream, salsa, chili powder and cumin, stirring with a whisk. Spoon dressing over lettuce mixture; toss to coat. Place lettuce mixture on plate or in tortilla bowl. Top with rice mixture and shredded cheese.

Source: Cooking Light