Lars, No suggestions yet as I am still exploring the taco shell makers. I bought them for Lily (6 years old) for Christmas because she loves Mexican and I thought she would love making taco salad.

I, I mean Lily, used the 10" tortillas and brushed them with OO before baking. She made a simple taco salad, we packed it up and she took it home to assemble for mommy and daddy who were very impressed! Beau doesn't do salad.

FWIW, I make my taco salad with influence from my Mexican Aunt Marie's tacos. She always uses oil on her tacos so I mix peanut oil, sour cream, and salsa to pour on the salad.

I found the molds in the As Seen On TV section at Walgreen's so I didn't have to go through the usual flim flam.

I've been using this recipe for years. We like it.

Taco Salad

1 lb. lean ground beef, browned and drained
1 tsp. chili powder
1 can chili beans
1 head lettuce, shredded
1 tomato sliced
sliced red onion
1 avocado, diced
olives, opt.
1/2 C of either Catalina dressing or Good Seasons Italian dressing
shredded cheddar cheese

Mix together and toss.

Toppings:

crushed taco chips, sour cream,

Catalina dressing:

1/2 C. veg. oil
1/4 C ketchup
1/4 C. red wine vinegar
1/4 C. finely chopped onion
3 T. sugar
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. salt

Combine all ingredients in jar and shake well.

When I'm serving to guests, I also serve with refried beans:

Refried Beans

1 onion, peeled and halved
3 C dry pinto beans
1/2 jalape�o pepper, seeded and chopped
2 T. minced garlic
5 tsp salt*
1 3/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1/8 tsp. cumin
9 C. water

Place onion and next 6 ingredients in slow cooker. Pour in water and stir to combine. Cook on high for 8 hours, adding more water as needed. Note: If more than 1 C. of water has evaporated during cooking, temp is too high. Once beans have cooked, strain them and reserve the liquid. Mash with potato masher adding reserved liquid as needed to attain desired consistency.

*You might want to cut the salt in half and add more according to your tastes. This makes a lot so I freeze it in portion size I need for the two of us. It's very good.

I forgot to mention, I have a Taco shell basket for frying tortillas and when being fancy, I serve the salad in the the Taco shells. For just the two of us I just serve the salad on plates. DH's favorite. Try it, I think you'll like it.

I used to have the taco shell baskets (made of wire) for frying corn tortillas, but I got rid of them before I got my deep fryer and never used them. I'll have to look for replacements. Your recipe looks pretty traditional, but I personally will have to make a substitution for the ground beef - possibly ground turkey, which is what I've substituted in the past. Your refried bean recipe is similar to my Texas bean dip recipe, except that I make smaller batches so that I can puree it in my FP, and I do often freeze half of it. I don't have a slow cooker or crockpot. I will try your refried bean recipe, however, and possibly I can make it in a Dutch oven. I like having cooked beans on hand, but I only buy them dried, not canned, because they are so much cheaper that way. I normally add epazote to the beans, if I have it in my yard. I think it has died back for the winter.

The Thai restaurant that we like has mini wonton baskets that I also want to make - I already have the mini-muffin pan to make them.

Thanks for your suggestions!

Lars

If you're looking for alternatives to beef, I often use lentils as a meat substitute in tacos, and use the leftovers the next day in a taco salad. Just cook the lentils with southwestern-style seasonings... maybe some cumin, garlic, and chilis.

I am already using pinto beans in the salad, and so I do not know if adding lentils would help. However, the idea of using lentils made me think that I could make an Indian version and maybe add raw spinach, lentils, potatoes, cauliflower, and season it with curry powder. I know that cooked spinach would be more Indian, but I want to keep it more of a salad. Or I could use Chana Masala instead of lentils - I make that a lot anyway. When I make Chana Masala, I do use cumin, garlic, and chilies, but I also add garam masala and curry powder plus ginger, because I like ginger.

Lars

I don't eat beef very often and when I make this salad, I cook up the beef and rinse it off so it works for me but I think ground turkey or ground chicken would work well. I'm not a big slow cooker user either. I use mine mostly for keeping something warm in when I'm having a party. I think the only thing I ever made in it was pulled pork and this refried bean recipe. I don't know why I made the pulled pork because DH doesn't even like pulled pork, LOL but I tried it. It's worth having though just for this refried bean recipe. I made it for my Wine and Dine group one night and everyone wanted the recipe including my friend that spends three months in Mexico every year!

Your refried bean recipe is very close to what is standard in Mexico City among the friends that I have there, but they have to use a pressure cooker to cook it. The mashed beans are used as a condiment for many things, including tortas (sandwiches made with bolillos).

I've had pulled pork (carnitas) in taco salads and consider it a standard option. Ground turkey may not work well, but chopped grilled turkey or chicken would. I'm also going to have to remember to put sliced or chopped avocado in it, as I do not like it with guacamole mixed in.

Lars

Well, now I'm craving a taco salad.......thank you very much.... ;o)

Teresa, If you get down here, I'll have Lily make a taco salad just for you.

Cathy, I'm sure I would love Lily's taco salad! How kind of you to offer - can you guarantee sunny skies and fairly warm temps? I don't think I have seen either in weeks.

Teresa

T, I just watched the weather, 81 here today and very sunny. I have been disappointed that I haven't been able to wear any long sleeves or long pants except two days since December. It is suppose to get cool later this week--down to 61.

DISCLAIMER: I don't guarantee weather, I just complain and roll with whatever is served up.

As I'm reading this we are freezing over here! We may be in South Louisiana but it's cold to the bone right now! We have had a fire going for two days. Right now I would appreciate one of Lar's Taco Salads as it's one of my favorites.

I was thinking of ordering the tortilla shaped pans that I've seen on TV recently. Then I thought better of it. I can pan fry up a tortilla and it would taste the same? It may be fried and not baked. Not as pretty but the taste would be same maybe?

I've had the baked tortilla shells and while they are healthier, they definitely don't taste as good.

We like margarita chicken taco salad. Chicken breasts braised in margarita mix with some chili powder and cumin. Then shredded and put over salad vegies. Sour cream, salsa, avocado or guac, black beans, corn relish, onions, olives...whatever...on the side.

(I've never seen those molds...I wad up aluminum foil, drape flour tortillas over, then bake for 10 min.)

Don't generally make taco salads....never think about making them but the first thing I thought of when reading your post was fish tacos. Don't know why they wouldn't work in a salad shell....
just saying, can't offer any recipes though.....just the thought..sorry:)
murphy

I agree, they don't taste as good (the baked molds) but my project was all about Lily. I fry corn tortillas for salad or taco salad. The mold instructions didn't mention spraying the tortillas with oil but I thought they would taste a little better.

I make this recipe a lot in the summer when tomatoes are plentiful in the garden. It's a good make-and-take recipe or one for a good vegetarian meal. This recipe is served on spinach, but you can easily use lettuce and serve it in a taco shell. -Grainlady

BLACK BEAN TACO SALAD

2 cans (15-oz. each) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (2-1/4 oz.) sliced ripe olives, drained
2 med. tomatoes, seeded and chopped (1-1/2 cups)
1/3 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 c. chopped green onions (3 med.)
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro (or parsley)
2 T. lime juice
1 t. ground cumin
1/4 t. pepper
4 c. chopped spinach (6-oz.)

Mix beans, olives, tomatoes, cheese, onions and cilantro. Mix lime juice, cumin and pepper; toss with bean mixture. Serve on spinach. Makes 4 generous servings
[Grainlady note: I normally make half a recipe and use cooked dried beans, rather than canned.)

I've been using the following recipe for over 30 years. Got the recipe from a friend. It's a family favorite and very similar to Gregorysmom's recipe but heads off in a different direction from what I think of as traditional Mexican flavors. DSII loves it so much that he'll come home with the ingredients and take over evening meal duty!

Taco Salad

1 # ground beef
1 onion diced
1 can beans, undrained (red, pinto, black or kidney)
Creamy Caesar salad dressing

Saute ground beef & onion until beef & onion are cooked thru. Drain excess fat & return beef mixture to skillet. Stir in beans. Heat thru. Stir in enough Creamy Caesar dressing to coat the meat & beans.

Pour hot meat mixture over the salad, toss & serve.

Salad
1 head lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
Chopped tomato
1-2 avocados, diced
Slightly crushed tortilla chips

Garnishes:
Salsa
Sour Cream
Shredded Cheddar

Although I've never made it with ground turkey, I think turkey would work nicely in place of ground beef.

Karen, it's been unusually cold here too with highs in the upper 50s for three days and low temps getting down as low as 37 degrees at my house. I brought all of my phalaenopsis orchids inside to protect them, as they do not like for it to get below 45 degrees. They live in a semi-protected area beside the house, but it did get down to 42 degrees in that area. I'm putting them back outside tomorrow, however, as it is supposed to be back in the upper 70s through the week-end.

I fry the corn tortillas in a pan with a small amount of oil to make crispy tacos, but baking works better for the flour tortillas, and Katie's method should work also, but I find the molds to be very convenient and make pretty bowls out of the tortillas. They come out crispy and lightly brown after baking - I'll try to photograph them next time.

Grainlady, I like the idea of using spinach - I will try to use that next time, and I was also planning to add some olives.

When I was at UT Austin, I would frequently have a taco salad at the Student Union - it was cheap, and I could sit in the large patio. They used sour cream as a standard ingredient instead of a salad dressing, and I always told them to leave that off. It did also have guacomole in it as well.

Lars

Just had to stop at the nearest Mexican restaurant and get a taco salad.....it was....meh. Not bad, just not as good as I hoped it would be. But I think I knew it was only going to be...meh. I'll get some ingredients and make my own soon!

Teresa

Teresa, here is my recipe for the bean dip that I use when making taco salad, tostados, burritos, or tortas:

Texas Bean Dip

Ingredients

1-1/3 cup dried pinto (or red) beans (about 2 cups cooked)
1/2 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp cumin
1 bunch of cilantro, large stems removed, about 2/3 cup chopped
1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes (10 oz.) or similar tomatoes, diced with green chilies, drained, liquid reserved
3-4 Serrano chilies, coarsely chopped
6 tbsp chopped fresh oregano (or 2 tbsp dried oregano)
1 tbsp soup base - vegetable or beef, or 1 tsp salt, to taste

Place dried beans in large pot and cover with water to about 3-4 times original depth. Bring to a boil and boil for two minutes, cover, and remove from heat and allow to soak for one hour. Discard the soaking water and rinse and sort the beans. Cover with fresh water, with about two inches above the soaked beans, and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for one hour, or until done, and discard the cooking water.

Place all of the ingredients except the beans in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the beans, and check for flavor - you may not want to add all of them. If needed, add a bit of liquid from the canned tomatoes to aid in processing. I remove some of the seeds from the chilies and save them, in case it comes out too bland. You can remove more seeds, if you like it mild.

Serve warm or cold with tortilla chips, or use to make burritos, tostados, etc.

This is a staple condiment in my kitchen, and so I try to keep some on hand in the fridge or freezer. I often freeze half of the recipe so that it will keep longer.

Lars

Lars, I have made your bean dip and it's very good.

You could easily adapt this favorite recipe to be served in a taco shell. I've made this a number of times to bring to get-togethers and I never get to bring any leftovers home. LOL (originally posted here by Annova...thanks Annova!)

Layered Mexican Salad

Dressing:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup jarred salsa (I used my home canned)
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
2 tsps fresh lime juice

Salad:
1 romaine heart, torn into bite sized pieces (about 4 cups)
1/2 small red onion, sliced thin
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved (quartered if large)
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 (16 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 ripe avocados, pitted, skinned and chopped
1-1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 cups crushed tortilla chips

For the dressing:
Whisk all ingredients in medium bowl.

For the salad:
Place lettuce in large serving bowl. Spread half of dressing over lettuce, then layer with onion, tomatoes, corn, beans, avocados and cheese. Spread remaining dressing over salad. Sprinkle with tortilla chips. Serve. (Salad can be refrigerated for 1 day; reserve tortilla chips until just before serving). Serves 6-8.
Source: Cook�s Country August/September 2008
Posted by Annova

Linda

Linda, that recipe sounds good, and I like all the ingredients. I make a very similar dressing, but I use my own habanero/chipotle sauce instead of salsa, and I add more lime juice than that. I had thought about putting corn kernels in the salad because I've had it that way before and liked it. I would omit the rice I used if I put corn in it.

Glad you liked my bean dip! Thanks for mentioning that.

Lars

I made taco salads last week, and Kevin and I really liked them. I used TJ's own flour tortillas, which are made without preservatives and therefore have to be stored in the fridge immediately and used within a week or so. They come out light and crispy after baking.

I put Romaine lettuce in the bottom of the shell, followed by beans, avocado slices, tomatoes, dressing, ground turkey, and cheese on top. I find ground turkey to be a very good substitute for beef, although I prefer pork. When I used to get the taco salads at the Texas Union, they would put pureed refried beans at the bottom, followed by beef, and the the lettuce and tomatoes next with sour cream/guacamole on top and salsa on the side. I prefer to have the lettuce on the bottom, but having everything mixed together might be a better idea, since I mix it up once I start eating it. I have leftover taco meat and beans, and so we will have these again tonight or tomorrow.

Lars