When it’s hot outside, I love creating a variety of salads for our meals. D likes his salads to have meat whenever possible. Today, I decided to surprise him with a nice hearty taco salad for lunch. It was one of those dishes where I looked to see what I had that could be used and threw it in the cast iron skillet.
I can easily be customized based upon family taste preferences and ingredients on-hand. You can set out the various ingredients after the meat is cooked and allow family members to build their own taco salad.
Today’s skillet meal contained:
- 1 large red bell pepper, diced
- 3 small yellow pepper, diced
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 medium tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 clove of garlic
- 1 lb. of ground turkey
- 1 can of kidney beans
- seasoning
I add the onions and peppers to the pan and cook until soft, add the garlic towards the end of the cooking time. Next, I brown the ground turkey in a cast iron pan over medium heat. Once done, I add the kidney beans, tomatoes, and seasoning. (I used a mexican seasoning mix today.) Because I want the flavors to come together, I simmer the meat mixture on low for between 15 and 20 minutes. During this time, I shred up some sharp cheddar cheese. When we are ready to eat, I put a nice portion of mixed greens on the plate and top with the meat mixture and cheese.
You can serve this with some chipotle ranch, sour cream, black olives, salsa and/or guacamole. We usually have leftovers when I make this. It heats up really well. In fact, it tends to taste even better the next day as the flavors meld together more when it sits overnight.
Another delicious, gluten-free meal that can be made quickly without much effort. It works well for both lunch and dinner.
Meal Prep Tips:
- Purchase prewashed greens or prep your lettuce when you bring it home from the market.
- Dice peppers and onions when you bring them home from the market. Store diced peppers in the freezer and pull out when you’re ready to use. If you know you’re going to use them within a few days, you can just store them in the fridge.
- Do not store your tomatoes in the fridge. They should be stored on the counter for best flavor and texture.
- You can use canned tomatoes for the meat mixture and save the fresh tomatoes for topping the salad.
Ingredients
- 1 large red bell peppers, diced
- 3 small yellow peppers, diced
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 medium tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 clove of garlic
- 1 lb. of ground turkey
- 1 can of kidney beans
- seasoning
- sour cream, optional
- black olives, optional
- chipotle ranch, optional
- guacamole, optional
- salsa, optional
Instructions
- Heat up cast iron skillet on high. Reduce heat to medium low. Add peppers and onions. Cook until soft and tender. Add garlic towards the end of cooking.
- Brown ground turkey in cast iron skillet over medium heat.
- Once turkey is browned combine pepper mixture, meat, 2/3 of the tomatoes, and kidney beans with the seasoning. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes on low.
- Serve meat mixture over a bed of greens and top with cheese, tomatoes, and your favorite toppings.
This post was featured in The Christian Home Magazine – Issue 62.
yummy and it looks so good too!!
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I love taco salad, too. I’ve just never thought about tossing peppers and tomatoes in with the meat to cook.
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