Taco Salad...sans Taco...

   Well, it's Monday and here I am! Not on holiday--yet! We're hoping we'll be off soon though...anyway, whether or not we go where we had planned, there is still lots-o summer fun to be had, and we shall have it! 
   Moving onto taco salad. I realize for this to actually be a taco salad it should have corn chips or something on it, but when I'm eating clean/paleo there are no corn chips that fit into my life. Also, "sans" means "without" in french, just fyi.  :) 
   But really, this salad is so tasty, and can stand on it's own, without it's cool friend the corn chip. That being said, if you eat corn chips, then crush some and add them to the top of this! Do what you want! 
   The idea is basically that this salad is what you might have in a taco, only deconstructed! Plus, when you eat a "taco" this way, you are upping the veggies, which is always good. 

Taco Salad (sans taco)

Ingredients:

• 1 medium sized onion, diced
• 1 lb ground beef, pork, turkey or chicken
• 227G container of mushrooms, washed and sliced
• 1 tomato, diced (or 1 cup of salsa)
• 2 Tbsp Franks Original Hot Sauce (only if you're using a plain tomato, not if you're using salsa)
• 2 Tbsp Chili Powder 
• 1 Tbsp Garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp Paprika

• Romaine, wash and chopped. As a meal, you'll want 1 cup of salad per child that will eat, and 2-3 cups salad per adult.
• Toppings: Tomato, cucumber, peppers, hot banana rings, avocado, green onions, whatever you would like! For the non-paleo person toppings can include: crushed corn chips, beans, sour cream and cheese.

Method:

1. First make your avocado dressing, if you're using it (it's simple and yummy!). The recipe is right here. 
2. In a medium-sized skillet over medium heat, sauté the onion with a tablespoon or two of coconut oil or olive oil for a few minutes, until browning and translucent.
3. Add the mushrooms and allow them to brown and soften. Give them 5 minutes or so.
4. Add the ground meat along with the seasonings to the skillet. Brown the meat, breaking up bigger pieces, until meat is cooked through.
5. Add the chopped tomato and Frank's (or salsa), and allow them to simmer and get cozy with the with meat mixture and pick up all the nice flavours.
6. Divide the salad among bowls or plates. You can add your toppings now, or after your meat mixture is on, whichever you prefer! You can also add the dressing now or wait until you can also put it over the meat.
   
7. Spoon the meat mixture over each salad, and finish it up by adding dressing and toppings (if you haven't already). 
8. Devour! :)  

   I love salad. I know a lot of people don't, but I do! In our house we don't eat a lot of cooked veggies; our stand-by veg is always salad. Now, that can bite us in the behind when we run out of lettuce (or all the fresh toppings), and we're all staring with distain at steamed broccoli on our plates, but it is what it is! We'll eat the cooked veg, but our first and truest vegetable love is salad. Just thought I'd share that. 
   Happy Monday!