austingreensqueen

Best Laid Plans

After doing a little Christmas shopping this cool Tuesday morning after Thanksgiving, I headed out with the boys to eat lunch at PF Changs. I had looked on-line and saw that they had 5 or 6 salads on their lunch menu and wanted to try one. On the way there, I suddenly remembered I had a dentist appointment I had to go to instead. Later, when the boys picked me up and brought me home, I was the only one who hadn’t eaten yet. So within a few minutes, I had a delicious salad on the table ready to eat.

All I had to prepare was the bacon: three strips of crispy thin bacon in the frying pan. Thick bacon has its place but for salads, I like thin and crispy. It takes the place of croutons for me since I don’t eat bread. Bacon crunch is reminiscent of Fritos or tortilla chips in my taco salad. There was a little left-over taco meat and black beans from Saturday night to microwave for the protein. Top that off with a little picante sauce and sour cream and voila!  Tex-Mex Salad.  I like to throw a few Chia seeds on top because they are awesome for anyone who wants to live longer. Look them up.

Use proportions to suit your appetite and your own likes and dislikes. This is salad, not cake! It doesn’t have to be precise. Just add a little of this and a little of that, taste it and see what you think.

Tex-Mex Salad

Baby Spinach 1-2 Cups

Bell Pepper, any color

Onion, chopped or sliced

Taco meat (ground beef crumbled and browned, seasoned with cumin powder and garlic salt)

Black beans, rinsed

Avocado

Cheddar Cheese, grated

Picante Sauce

Sour Cream

Ranch Dressing or dressing of choice

Chia Seeds

Crumbled bacon