Chicken Taco Salad With Tostitos Garlic and Black Bean Chips

We make taco salads on a fairly occasional basis but they have always been beef based. For a change of pace, I thought we should try one that was chicken based.

To start the process, I took some of those Foster Farms chicken strips we bought at Costco a while back and tossed them with some chili powder and EVOO and put them in the fridge to thaw.

When my wife got home, she finished heating them up in a pan on the stove. I chopped some romaine lettuce, pulled the cheese out of the fridge along with some salsa and got those Tostitos Garlic and Black Bean chips that I reviewed recently.

Our conclusion: this worked really well and it was a fun, tasty dinner. There are a lot of different textures and flavors going on here.  The romaine lettuce and the chips give some crunch, while there is a meaty texture from the chicken.  The lettuce gives a fresh flavor while the salsa and the chips give a little spice and zing.

The value from this is pretty good too. A salad like this is probably going to set you back $16 to $20 for two people at someplace like Applebees. And unless you live next door to a restaurant, chances are you can put this together in less time than it takes to drive there and back.

So the next time you crave a taco salad, take a look in your cupboard, your fridge and your freezer. You very well might be able to make something delicious in less time than it takes to get to the restaurant.