Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef (browned)
• 1 can light red kidney beans
• 2 tomatoes, cubed
• 1/4 - 1/2 head lettuce, cut or shredded
• 1 package taco seasoning mix (I use Taco Bell)
• 1 small can sliced black olives, drained
• 1 8 oz. package shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 of bag Tortilla Chips (Tostitos, Doritos Corn, or Mission, etc)
• 1/2 - 1 8 oz. bottle Creamy French Salad Dressing or Catalina Dressing

Directions

Brown ground beef and drain any grease. Add taco seasoning mix and water to beef mixture and cook according to package directions. Set ground beef mixture aside to cool. While the meat is cooling cup up you veggies. Cut up the lettuce. I like mine in bigger chunks instead of shredding the it. Add to a large bowl cut tomatoes and add to your bowl, then add the black olives.

With the big tomato scare and the FDA saying we cannot eat some of the tomatoes (Red Romas or Round Red Tomatoes) due to the Salmonella scare. Goodness what would taco salad be without tomatoes! No worries here. I am so glad I do not have to go out and actually buy tomatoes, I am so lucky that we grow our own tomatoes so we have plenty every year. So be careful when purchasing your tomatoes. Always wash them first before adding to any dish but that's just common knowledge.

Add cooled meat mixture, cheese, kidney beans and taco chips. I break my chips into pieces and I don't add all of the chips to the salad or they will get soggy. Finally add the French Dressing and toss together. At this point you can taste the salad and see how much dressing you would like to add, it can be anywhere from 1/2 of the bottle or you can add the whole thing, it's really your own preference. Add salad to a large serving bowl and dig in. If you want more chips you can add them to each bowl. This is really the best Taco Salad i have ever had.

Source: This recipe is my oldest sisters recipe. She has been making Taco salad this way for as long as i can remember. I can personally count 21 years ago was the first time I ate this wonderful taco salad. I have been making it for my family ever since. This recipe has been placed on my very own recipe website.

• Mommys Kitchen

By Tina from Mesquite, TX