Taco Salad and Burritos

Our go-to meal (well, second to Papa Murphy's pizza) for family dinner at Michelle's was always burritos. We never did anything fancy with them, but they were always fantastic. We would simply brown a pound of beef with seasonings or even a can of green chile; heat up a can of refried beans; chop up lettuce, tomato, and onion; shred some cheese; and set out a jar of salsa and a tub of sour cream. Someone would put some beans and meat on each tortilla (which were usually heated in the cast iron skillet) and take two to each diner. Then it was just fill it with what you want and eat. Sometimes we would chop up an avocado if there was a ripe one at the store. Sometimes we even used shredded chicken instead of beef. It's so incredibly easy, but also amazingly delicious. There's nothing pretentious about it, which is perfect for family dinner.

If I was feeling healthy at the time, I would often tear up some extra lettuce and turn my burrito into a taco salad. I love taco salad, and could probably eat it every day and be perfectly happy. I know that everyone has their own way to make taco salad, and this recipe is really quite basic, but I wanted to put it in here anyhow.

Taco Salad
Serves 4-6

1 onion
4 tomatoes
1 head lettuce
1 avocado
1 15 oz. can red kidney beans
4 oz grated cheese
8 oz 1000 Island dressing
hot sauce
1 bag Fritos or Doritos
1 lb. ground beef
1/4 tsp. salt

Chop onions, tomatoes, and lettuce. Toss with cheese, dressing and hot sauce (to taste). Crunch and add corn ships. Slice and add avocado. Brown ground beef and beans and salt. Simmer for 10 minutes and mix with cold salad. Garnish with corn chips, avocado, and tomato slices. Serve immediately.