HALF-BAKED TACO SALAD

Half-Baked Taco Salad image

I've always adored taco salad, but I wanted to find a way to retain the large portions that the meal typically offers, retain the sharp flavor of the cheeses and meat mixture, but reduce the complexity and calories involved in having a bread product. This is the result and I'm quite addicted to it. I made slight changes to 'Taco Seasoning I' for the spicing, but otherwise hit upon the idea of pre-baking the salad before applying meat, tomato, and salsa, and quite like how the romaine gets crispy along the edges.

Provided by jeturcotte

Time 50m

Yield 4

Number Of Ingredients 18

Ingredients

1 tablespoon chili powder
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 pound 93% lean ground beef
½ cup water
1 (15 ounce) can no salt-added kidney beans
4 tomatoes
2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped
4 large green bell peppers, sliced
1 ounce finely grated Parmesan cheese
4 ounces coarsely grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup salsa

Steps:

Combine chili powder, cumin, black pepper, garlic powder, sea salt, paprika, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and oregano together in a bowl.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir beef in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Mix spice mixture into ground beef until evenly coated; add water. Simmer beef until liquid is evaporated, 10 to 15 minutes. Add kidney beans and simmer until beans are heated through, about 10 minutes.
Cut each tomato in half down the middle. Slice 1 of each half into thin, round cross sections. Chop the remaining halves.
Spread romaine lettuce onto the prepared baking sheet; top with green bell peppers and tomato slices. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over tomato layer.
Bake in the preheated oven until edges of romaine lettuce are crisp but not burned, 10 to 20 minutes.
Top salad with taco meat mixture, Cheddar cheese, chopped tomato, and salsa. Transfer salad to a serving plate using a spatula.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 565.4 calories, Carbohydrate 41.7 g, Cholesterol 104.3 mg, Fat 28.3 g, Fiber 18.5 g, Protein 42.3 g, SaturatedFat 12.6 g, Sodium 1018.4 mg, Sugar 13.1 g