Deadline Taco Salad

Life in our household is crazy busy.  Mr. Wendy has a 40 minute commute to his full time job; he has band practice at least once per week; and he plays shows about once per month.  In addition to writing (and cooking!), I teach full time ... this semester, I have over 650 students!  And then, of course, there's laundry, the litter box, and the occasional social outing.

So weeknight dinners are often hurried affairs, and they are often woefully short on fresh vegies.  When I'm on deadline, it's even worse.  One of our favorite "holy cow, we need something quick and with a vitamin or two" meals is taco salad.  We've been eating a lot of taco salad these days.  

A couple of cooking notes:  

First, we usually make our own "corn chips" by putting corn tortillas in a 425 oven for anywhere from 3 to 5 minutes (turning with tongs and watching them really closely to prevent burning).  We do this to keep the sodium content of this meal from going right through the stratosphere (the taco seasoning is bad enough ...).  You can use packaged tostada shells or corn chips if you prefer.

We usually use reduced fat mild cheddar cheese, but Monterey jack, colby, a Mexican blend ... the sky's the limit.

This is our easy, delicious, and reasonably healthy version of taco salad ...

Deadline Taco Salad

1 bag vegetarian burger crumbles
1 packet (1/4 c.) taco seasoning
3/4 c. water
1 1/2 c. frozen corn
salad mix (I prefer spinach and baby red lettuce)
grated cheese
sliced olives
cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
corn chips or tostada shells
taco sauce
reduced fat sour cream

Combine the burger crumbles, water, taco seasoning, and frozen corn in a large skillet over medium heat.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the water evaporates and the mixture is hot.

Spoon seasoned crumbles on top of a bed of greens and garnish with cheese, tomatoes, and olives.  Drizzle with taco sauce and add dollops of sour cream.   Sprinkle corn chips on top (or serve with tostada shells.

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Wendy is the author of the Mysteries a la Mode. Visit her on the web or on Facebook. She also writes the Pet Boutique Mysteries under the name Annie Knox; you can follow Annie on Facebook, too!