23 April, 2012
Southwest salad with taco ranch dressing
Posted in : Dinner, Lunch, Mexican, Salad, Sides & Appetizers, Vegetarian on by : wendland99
Total Recipe cost: $8.23
Servings Per Recipe: 6-8
Cost per serving: $1.37
Prep time: 20 min min. Cook time: 15-20 min. (while prepping) Total: 30 min.
| DRESSING INGREDIENTS: | COST | |
| 3/4 cup | plain yogurt | $0.41 |
| 1/2 cup | buttermilk | $0.27 |
| 1/4 cup | mayonnaise | $0.33 |
| 1/2 tsp | salt | $0.02 |
| 1/2 tsp | garlic powder | $0.03 |
| 3/4 tsp | chili powder | $0.04 |
| 1/4 tsp | cumin | $0.03 |
| 1/8 tsp | cayenne pepper | $0.02 |
| TORTILLA CRISPS: | COST | |
| 6 small | corn tortillas | $0.39 |
| as needed | non-stick spray | $0.05 |
| a dash | salt | $0.02 |
| SALAD INGREDIENTS: | COST | |
| 1 head | iceberg lettuce | $0.87 |
| 1 can | black beans | $1.19 |
| 1.5 cup | frozen corn kernels | $0.70 |
| 1 large | tomato | $1.23 |
| 1 bunch | green onions | $0.75 |
| 1.5 cups | shredded cheese | $1.88 |
| TOTAL | $8.23 | |
STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Use a pizza cutter to slice the tortillas into thin strips. Line a baking sheet with foil and coat it with non-stick spray. Spread the tortilla strips out in a single layer and spritz lightly with more non-stick spray. Sprinkle lightly with salt.
STEP 2: Bake the tortilla strips for 15-20 minutes or until they are golden brown and crispy. Stir the tortilla strips half way through cooking.
STEP 3: While the tortilla strips are baking, cut the head of lettuce into small pieces. Rinse the lettuce and drain well (or use a salad spinner). Also chop the tomato and slice the green onions. Rinse the black beans in a colander to remove the starchy canning liquid. Remove the corn from the freezer and allow it to thaw.
STEP 4: Whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing (yogurt, buttermilk, mayonnaise, salt, garlic powder, chili powder, cumine, and cayenne). Makes about 1.5 cups or 6 servings of 1/4 cup each.
STEP 5: Once the tortilla strips are finished cooking, the dressing is made, and all of the salad ingredients are prepped, build the salad! You can either build one big salad and then serve or build individual portions. Layer the lettuce first, then black beans, corn, tomato, shredded cheese, green onion, and a few tortilla strips on top.
Step By Step Photos
First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Cut the tortillas into thin strips. I found that a pizza cutter made this a quick and easy task.
Spread the tortilla strips out onto a baking sheet covered with foil and coated with non-stick spray. Spray the strips lightly with non-stick spray and then sprinkle lightly with salt.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Stir the strips about 10 minutes in.
While the tortilla strips are baking, chop, rinse, and drain the lettuce. I cut my lettuce into small squares. Make sure to drain the lettuce really well so that your salad is not watery.
Also prepare the other toppings. Rinse the black beans to remove the starchy canning liquid. Take the corn out of the freezer and allow it to thaw. Dice the tomato and slice the green onions.
Lastly, whip together the taco ranch dressing. It’s really easy, just whisk together all of the ingredients. All of the spices are in 1/4 tsp increments so you only need to use one measuring spoon! (You’ll have to fill it half way for the cayenne, but it doesn’t have to be exact.)
I’m not gonna lie, I was really, really hungry when making this and I couldn’t stop dipping the tortilla crisps in the dressing!
You can also make this dressing as light or “heavy” as you want. I used non-fat yogurt, low fat mayo, and regular buttermilk (same fat content as 2% milk). It still tasted rich and delicious!
You can build the salad in any order you want, but I found this order to be most visually appealing: lettuce, black beans, corn, tomato, cheese, green onion, and tortilla crisps on top. You can either build one big salad and then serve single portions, or just build single serving portions to begin with.
ref: http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2012/04/southwest-salad-with-taco-ranch.htm
