Dreaming of Super Bowl nachos, but want a more substantive dish? Look no further than The Main Event Taco Salad, the perfect recipe for Super Bowl XLV. It's salad, it's tacos, it's nachos. It can serve a giant party, or a small gathering. Like a good KR/WR/RB, The Main Event Taco Salad is multi-faceted, does whatever you ask and does it well.
Ingredients
- Ground turkey (One normal package, 20 oz, will feed 2-4 if you're eating it as a meal, depending on your appetite.)
- Jar of salsa, spice level up to you. (I make this with Newman's Own Mango Salsa, as the mango flavor works perfect with the turkey.)
- Restaurant-style tortilla chips
- Package of taco seasoning (every supermarket stashes this in a different aisle. Try spices or where Mexican-style food is kept.)
- Shredded lettuce (Shred it yourself - I've had bad luck lately with purchasing already shredded lettuce.)
- Beefsteak tomato (1 per every 2 people)
- Can of black olives
- Can of chopped green chilies (Not jalapenos, though if you want to go that route, go ahead. These chilies are a tad milder.)
- Shredded cheddar cheese (Again, like with my pizza - it's up to you, but you can either buy it shredded and save the time, or shred it yourself and get a fresher flavor)
- Low fat sour cream
Directions
- In a large skillet, place the ground turkey. Cook on medium heat on the stove, nudging it every two minutes or so. Make sure it cooks through.
- While the turkey is cooking, chop your beefsteak tomatoes. Set aside.
- When turkey is mostly cooked, add taco seasoning and just a tad less water than what the envelope may require. (The amount they recommend is usually a tad too much, and makes the seasoning runny.) Stir through. Then it's secret ingredient time! Add 3 tablespoons of the salsa to the turkey. Stir around. Lower the heat to low/warm and let simmer for 3-4 minutes.
- If you have guests over, create a topping buffet. Put out the chilies, olives, cheddar cheese, the remainder of the salsa, sour cream, chopped tomatoes to let guests garnish their taco salad themselves. If it's a smaller party, don't get that fancy. (I mean, unless you really want to do all those dishes.)
- On each plate, make a bed or nest of tortilla chips. Place a healthy bunch of the shredded lettuce on top of the chips. Then place the warm turkey on top of that. Then allow each guest to garnish their own taco salad. My recommended post-turkey order: cheese (melts on contact!), tomatoes, sour cream, salsa, black olives and top with a few chilies. (Then I would top it off with Frank's Red Hot, but that's just me.)