Ranch Taco Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1- 1 1/4 lb ground beef, sirloin if you want to spend the extra money
• 1/2 c. frozen corn
• 1 carrot, shaved with a vegetable peeler
• 2-3 cups of your favorite shredded cheese, I like Kirlkand Mexican Blend
• 1 small can tomato sauce or 1 small can tomato juice
• Your favorite tortilla chips, I like Garden of Eatin Blues
• Ranch Dressing
• Hot sauce, optional
• Taco seasoning, you can use a packet or make your own:
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 2 tsp chili powder
• dash of cayenne or chipotle powder optional
• sea salt, according to preference
• pepper, according to preference

Directions

1. Brown beef with carrots and add taco seasonings, drain fat if necessary or desired
2. Add can of tomato juice or sauce
3. Add corn and simmer
4. Assemble your salad, crumbling tortilla chips on top

Save money on this meal:

• buy beef and cheese in bulk and freeze in appropriate proportions for your family size
• keep a good stock of seasonings on hand to avoid convenience foods, which are almost always more expensive in the long run
• add pinto beans or black beans (at the end) with less meat or the same amount to stretch it out
• eat leftovers in a tortilla for lunch

Splurge:

• use ground sirloin (it is a lot more flavorful that regular old ground beef)
• use a specialty cheese (like chipotle cheddar and grate it yourself)
• use 2-3 cloves of minced garlic in place of real garlic
• serve with cornbread on the side