Pansy asked for my 'recipe' for taco salad. Like so much other everyday cooking, it doesn't really have a formal recipe, but I will describe how I generally make and serve it. Hope that helps!
Everyone it the family likes slightly different proportions of the basic ingredients, or even differing ingredients. I, for example, want a vinagrette on my lettuce, and Fritos, whereas the rest of the family uses naked lettuce and tortilla chips. I set this out on the table as a serve yourself proposition.
Fresh shredded lettuce
chopped tomatoes
sliced scallions (or chopped red onions)
sliced black olives (or whole)
shredded cheese (cheddar, Jack, asadero, whatever)
sour cream or queso fresco
frijoles (refritos or otherwise - we generally use Rosarita green chile/lime flavor)
rarely, a can of Hormel chili with beans ( a childhood habit of my moms)
avocados or guacamole
chips (fritos or tortilla chips) We use Abuelita on the East coast, Mission on the west coast.
meat.
I usually cook ground meat until done, drain, add in salsa and cook until flavor infuses through. One could also throw in a can of chopped tomatoes and jalapenos to taste. I have also been known to shred leftover roasts of poultry, pork or beef, and season and heat.
Each person assembles the ingredients to taste in a bowl (I like the flattish soup plates for this) and digs in.
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This morning for brunch I assembled a nice breakfast pie kind of in the quiche category. Once again, it was a matter of using stuff that was already in the fridge. I took a frozen pie crust and spread some sauteed onions on the bottom (Trader Joe's caramelized Red Onions, actually) and then covered that with a layer of cheddar cheese. On top of that I put a layer of steamed chopped swiss chard, and crumbled a little bacon over that. Finished assembling with a custard made of 2 eggs and 1 cup half and half (could also have used milk or cream or even sour cream - that was just what I had on hand) beaten with a little salt, some thyme, and some Cavendish's greek seasoning. Baked for around 40 minutes at 375 until custard set. Yum.
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Sunday dinner tonight will be kind of pedestrian. Beef pot roast, roasted beets, cauliflower/broccoli/carrots blend, but the potato dish is kind of an experiment. Will have to see how it turns out. I took leftover mashed potatoes (cooked from scratch) and folded into them some sour cream and grated garlic Jack cheese, put them into a buttered Pyrex loaf pan, topped with slices of mild cheddar, and put it into the oven to bake. Will let you all know later how it turned out.
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What is it about snow days that inspires culinary activity? I came home from work this morning to find that dear daughter had made cupcakes last night.
