Taco Salad

In honor of Earth Day (today), I’ve got an article/podcast for you (coming soon) on the benefits to the environment of grass-fed livestock (vs grain-fed/feedlot). And, in keeping with that topic, I thought a recipe using high quality, delicious grass-fed ground beef was a good fit!

For the seasoning of the ground beef, I usually like to make my own mixture, but recently I ordered pre-seasoned taco meat from Wild Pastures, which tasted great and was a nice time saver. So, you’ve got options! Here’s my homemade version:

Taco Seasoning Mix

• 1 T chili powder
• 1 tsp each:
  • cumin
  • smoked sea salt
  • onion powder
  • garlic powder
  • oregano
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Now, for this colorful, nutritious and delicious salad!

Taco Salad

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon avocado oil, coconut oil, or pastured butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 bulb of garlic, minced
• 1 pound grass-fed ground beef, either pre-seasoned, or with above mixture added
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1 medium head of lettuce, coarsely chopped
• 1 medium red tomato, diced, or 1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 1 orange bell pepper, diced
• 1 cucumber, diced
• 1 avocado, diced
• 2-3 stalks of scallions, thinly sliced
• Optional garnishes:
  • A dollop of homemade cultured coconut sour cream
  • Minced cilantro

Directions

1. Heat a frying pan over medium heat.
2. Add oil/butter, and heat for 1 minute.
3. Add the chopped onion and cook until onion begins to soften, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the garlic, ground beef, seasoning mix (if not using pre-seasoned meat), and water.
5. Cook until beef is browned through, chopping it up in the pan as it cooks. (I love this meat chopper tool for that – makes the job so easy!)
6. While the ground beef cooks, put the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and toss to mix.
7. To serve, put a helping of the salad mixture on a plate, spoon cooked meat over it, and add garnishes, as desired.
8. Enjoy! 😋