Taco Salad -- Vegetarian or Not

La Niña really gets in the way of salads for dinner here in the Pacific Northwest. Nonetheless, a person just wants to go ahead and have chicken salad or taco salad even when the temps are still in the low 50s.

I did know someone who used ranch dressing for her taco salad, but I haven't ever tried that. My daughter Kate uses tofu crumbles that she crisps up in a frying pan before using. I usually make ours vegetarian, but I had a chicken breast that needed cooking, so last night's salad had that too.

Ingredients vary for my taco salad.

If there are radishes in the fridge I like to slice those and toss them in. Sometimes there are olives in the pantry and sometimes not.  I did have a lone tomato that needed to be used, so that got seeded, chopped and added as well. I also like to add whole cilantro leaves, but I know that some people are genetically programed to think that cilantro tastes like soap, so if that's you, I'm OK with your leaving them out.

Beans, salsa and chips are a must-have of course.

We sometimes have an orange and red onion salad alongside or corn-on-the-cob if it's in the middle of summer. Last night it was just the taco salad and some Red Hot Blues tortilla chips.

Taco salad and Caesar salad require lettuce to be cut for some reason -- I think you just want smaller pieces of lettuce. I use whatever lettuce I have on hand. This recipe is for two people with enough left over for me to have for lunch. (People fall into two categories around here, those who will eat leftover taco salad for lunch and those who won't.)

I wonder what other people put into their taco salad?

Last Night's Taco Salad (amounts are approximate):

3/4 can of black beans, drained
1 cup sliced black olives
1 avocado, cut into cubes
1 cooked chicken breast, shredded
1 tomato, diced
Lettuce, cut, enough for two people plus extra
Cilantro, whole or chopped
Salsa
Sour cream
Tortilla chips

Cook the chicken breast in water that is just below a simmer (they call it "smiling") for 20 minutes.

Let it cool and shred the meat. Do this by holding the breast with one fork while pulling away pieces with the other. You can only do this by pulling with the grain of the chicken, otherwise you'll get nowhere and become frustrated and resort to dicing the chicken which is lots less tasty than shredded chicken for some reason.

Heat the beans and about 3/4 to 1 cup of salsa in the microwave for 1 1/2 minutes.

Combine all ingredients except the sour cream and tortilla chips, tossing well. I consider the salsa in this recipe as the salad dressing, and so I want plenty of it to moisten the ingredients and bring them altogether.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream (we use fat-free) and some tortilla chips to crumble on top. I sometimes make tortilla strips by cutting corn tortillas into small strips (you can see them in the photo) and toasting them for about 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven.