Dinner #1 (to be repeated tonight) this week is taco salad.
Taco salad isn’t sexy or fancy or ground-breaking, but it is delicious and healthful, when prepared lovingly. And if you have cooked beans on hand, it qualifies as a quick and tasty meal suggestion!
Here’s our variation on Taco Salad this week:
- 1 bag of organic greens (the crunchier, the better, but we used baby romaine this time), squeaky clean and dry
- 3 cups cooked pinto beans, warmed and tossed with spices (cumin and chili powder) – optional
- 1 large or 2 small avocados, sliced
- 1 jar prepared salsa (anything low in sugar, sodium and salt — I’m in love with Trader Joe’s garlic chipotle salsa)
- 1/2 a bunch green onions, washed and sliced
- Baked tortilla chips*
Just layer everything in order (or your preference) in a large bowl. Toss and enjoy! Serves 4.
Basic but delicious. In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll note that X topped his salad with low-fat sour cream, but mine remained dairy-free. I made the pinto beans from scratch — actually, Mr. X did! And the kitchen didn’t catch on fire! I’m so proud. I also baked the tortilla chips myself using an incredibly simple method. You just preheat the oven to about 375, cut tortillas (I use whole wheat from Trader Joe’s) into 1/8ths, lightly toss with olive oil and sprinkle with salt (and optional cumin and/or chili powder), and bake for a little under 10 minutes. I like to flip mine after a few minutes, but I think it’s unnecessary. I’m just paranoid of burning the chips, having done so on several occasions in the past.
It was lurve — healthy, spicy, beany love. Mr. X revealed to me this weekend that he loves salads, just not basic lettuce-tomato-dressing ones, so expect more slightly jazzed-up versions in the coming weeks.
On a slightly related subject, I’m aching to try making pizza next week, so I was hoping some of you might have homemade dough recipes to share. I prefer it to contain some whole wheat, and it cannot require a food processor or mixer, as I’m totally technology-less in the kitchen still. I’ll keep Googling, but a tried-and-true recipe from a reader would be great!
Tags: lunch/dinner, quick and easy, salad, veganism
My boyfriend makes us pizzas all the time with homemade pizza crust! His are 99% vegan and easily subbed (see below) to make 100% vegan. Yummy and healthy, but only really work as a crispy thin-crust, so if you’re looking for a thicker, doughier pizza crust you may want to keep looking. We’re spice-freaks, so we add a healthy dose of cayenne to the dough as well!
Thin Crust Spelt Pizza Dough
2 C spelt flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
2 Tsp. instant yeast
Oregano
Basil
Thyme
Cayenne
1.5 Tbsp. olive oil
1.5 Tbsp. honey (or sub vegan sweetener)
2/3 warm water mixed w/almond milk at a 3:1 ratio (approximately!)
1. Mix all dry ingredients (spices are to taste).
2. Pour in all wet ingredients and knead by hand.
3. Let sit in bowl for 5-10 minutes, then roll out into 2-3 crusts to about 1/8 inch thickness.
4. Par-bake on oven-safe pizza pan or cookie sheet w/parchment paper so it doesn’t stick for 3 minutes at 425F (this stiffens the crust and makes it easier to load up)!
5. Once it’s cool enough to deal with, top it and bake at same temp for 8-10 minutes directly on oven rack.
P.S. Thanks for the taco salad post! I’m definitely going to try it! I love that TJ salsa as well, it’s one of the best!
This recipe sounds delicious! Thanks so much for sharing, Jessie! I’m going to give it a whirl this week.
mmm taco salad! i definitely DO NOT have a dough recipe for you but i do recommend adding caramelized onion!
Ooooo, caramelized onion sounds incredible! Definitely adding.