Recipe: Lite Tex Mex Salad

As my hero-of-a-hubby and I embark on an "eating-fresher-and-getting-healthier-in-the-process" adventure we're finding all sorts of new food combinations, cooking methods, tasty tricks, etc... and this salad was one of the first things we discovered. It will be a staple for us through the summer...

Here's the recipe we started with... it was originally in Eating Well magazine, but most recently featured on Cooking.com. As you'll notice, the recipe doesn't include the fried tortilla... we just crumbled up a few tortilla chips on top of the salad for some extra crunch. The meat has so much flavor... so, so much flavor! What a great salad...

Tex-Mex Taco Salad

We decided to use ground turkey (obviously a leaner meat which also contains more protein by ounce and isn't as high in cholesterol as ground beef)... and then we changed up the dressing to a lighter yogurt version.

The original Southwest Dressing post... Southwest Dressing




But NOW we are replacing the Ranch dressing with Fage greek yogurt. This reduces the calories and carbs dramatically. (And with all the extra seasonings in it you can't even taste the difference. It's a perfect substitution!)



Come with us as we dig deeper into the topic of nutrition and as we commit to eating fresher and being healthier!

Below is my "lite" version of Eating Well's Tex Mex Salad recipe...


Lite Tex Mex Salad
Recipe courtesy Lori Tisdale

Ingredients
½ cup prepared salsa
3 tablespoons Fage 0% Greek Yogurt
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
10 ounces ground turkey
1 large plum tomato, diced
1 can kidney beans, rinsed
2 teaspoons ground cumin, divided
2 teaspoons chili powder, divided
Pinch cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
Kosher salt
4 cups shredded romaine lettuce
¼ cup pepper jack cheese, shredded

Instructions
Make the lite southwest dressing first. Compbine Fage yogurt, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp chili powder, pinch of cayenne pepper and kosher salt. Whisk together until combined. Add salsa to yogurt mixture and stir well. Set aside.

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and pinch of salt and cook, stirring often, until onions start to turn translucent. Add garlic and cook for an additional minute or so, stirring often. Add ground meat and cook until cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes. Add kidney beans, cumin, chili powder and a pinch of salt. Stir well, lower heat and place lid on skillet. Allow to sit for about 15 minutes to ensure the beans get cooked. Remove lid, add tomato and cook for a few more minutes, until the tomato begins to break down (about 2 minutes). Remove from the heat, stir in cilantro and 2 tablespoons of the salsa mixture.

In a large bowl add lettuce and remaining salsa mixture – toss until all lettuce pieces are coated with salsa. Divide lettuce among two plates; top with the cooked meat/bean mixture, shredded cheese and a few crumbled tortilla chips.


enjoy your time in the kitchen...