Let’s talk about it, TACO TUESDAY!! I LOVE TACOS and I cannot lie! If I’m going to a gathering or just having a dinner on a regular old Tuesday I find myself making excuses to make this delicious Taco Salad. It is always a big hit! The one thing about this recipe is you have a little patience and let the beef sit in the Catalina dressing for several hours covered in the refrigerator and really soak it up for a little bit. Once I started doing this, I haven’t gone back. No rushing me on this one.
Begin by browning your beef in a hot skillet with 2 tbsp. Taco Seasoning. As the beef is cooking dice your Roma tomatoes. I prefer the Roma as they are mild in taste and the texture holds up to the dressing.
Mix the cooled beef and the tomatoes with 1 cup of catalina dressing, cover and put in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
The final preparation should happen right before serving to keep the lettuce and Doritos crunchy. If you plan to eat this
Prepare iceberg lettuce by shredding into small pieces. Place in a airtight storage until you are ready to serve.
Pierce a small hole in the Nacho Cheese Doritos to let the air out of the bag. Then use your hands, or a rolling pin and crush the entire bag into small pieces.
When you are ready to serve pour the Doritos, lettuce and taco cheese into a large mixing bowl. Add the cooled beef and tomatoes. Pour the remaining catalina dressing to the mixture and mix until consistent.
Serve the taco salad immediately and enjoy!
Ingredients
- 2 Pound Ground Beef
- 1 Bottle Catalina Dressing
- 14 Oz Bag Doritos Nacho Cheese
- 1 Head Iceberg Lettuce
- 3 Roma Tomatoes
- 2 Cups Shredded Taco Blend Cheese
- 2 Tbsp Taco Seasoning
Instructions
- Dice the roma tomatoes.
- In a non- stick pan, heated over medium-high add the ground beef and sprinkle with the taco seasoning. Cook the beef using a spoon to break it up as it cooks aprx. 10 minutes.
- Once cooked, strain the liquid and put the beef in a bowl to rest and cool
- Once the beef is at room temperature (10 minutes), in a large bowl add the beef, Catalina dressing, and Roma tomatoes together mixing with a spoon to fully combine. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours to allow mixture to come together.
- Refigerate the mixture covered for 1-2 hours and upto 1 day.
- Before you are ready to serve, remove the beef mixture from the refrigerator, let it sit out for 15-20 minutes.
- While beef the mixture is coming to room temp prep the lettuce.
- Remove outer leaves from the Iceberg Lettuce and slice the head in half and then into quarters. Cut the lettuce into thin shreds. Wash and dry the shredded lettuce. A salad spinner makes this easy, but a strainer works nice as well
- Leaving the Doritos in the bag, poke a hole in it with a knife to allow air to get out. Using your hands or a rolling pin gently crush the entire bag until they are small bits.
- Add the crushed Doritos to the lettuce, cheese and beef mixture.
- Add the Taco Cheese and remaining Catalina dressing.
- Using a wooden spoon mix all ingredients togethr until fully incorporated.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- For maximum freshness serve this immediately after mixing all ingredients. The Doritos and lettuce are best when there is a crunch so they should be added last.Â
- When making a batch for a small group (we make it for 2 all the time). Mix it ready to eat as needed. We keep the fresh lettuce shredded in the refrigerator and add Doritos as we make it.Â
- Crushing the Doritos in the bag will save your hands from turning orange!Â
