Chopped Taco Salad With Homemade Catalina Dressing

By johandi

Ingredients

• Dressing:
• 1/2-1 1/2-1 1/2-1 pound ground turkey or beef
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 head romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 cup cilantro chopped
• 1 1 1 cup cubed (small) cheese, cheddar, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, etc.
• 1 1 1 cup frozen or fresh corn kernels (thawed if frozen)
• 1 6-ounce 1 6-ounce 6-ounce can olives, chopped
• 1 15-ounce 1 15-ounce 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 2 2 roma or plum tomatoes, chopped
• 1-2 1-2 1-2 avocados, chopped
• Crushed tortilla chips
• 1/4 1/4 1/4 cup ketchup (see note)
• 1/4 1/4 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 1/4 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 1/4 1/4 cup onion finely chopped
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 1/4 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• to and pepper to taste

Details

Adapted from ziplist.com

Preparation

Step 1

In a large, nonstick skillet, brown the ground turkey or beef with salt and pepper (about 1 teaspoon of each) until cooked through, breaking up the meat into bite-size pieces as it cooks. Drain excess grease if needed. Scrape the meat onto a paper towel-lined plate and set aside to cool a bit.
For the dressing, combine all the dressing ingredients together in a blender and process until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve. The dressing can be made up 3-4 days in advance.
In a large bowl, toss all the salad ingredients together (including the cooled meat) except the crushed tortilla tips.
Serve the salad with the dressing and crushed tortilla tips.

Recipe Source: salad from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe, dressing slightly adapted from Kitchen Simplicity (used olive oil instead of canola oil)