Fiesta Salad

This dish has many names from Nacho Salad or Taco Salad to Frito® Pie. I call mine Fiesta Salad and have made it many times. It’s a crowd pleaser, and my version is a bit healthier than the original.

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RECIPE

Fiesta Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. lean ground turkey
• 1 Tbsp. chili seasoning or taco seasoning mix
• 2 cups shredded lettuce
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1 large sweet onion, diced
• (optional) 1 jalepeño pepper, thinly sliced and/or diced
• 1½ cups skim milk
• 1 cup shredded Colby cheese
• 1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
• ½ cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1 bag Tostitos baked tortilla corn chips

Directions:

1. Brown ground turkey in a large skillet over medium heat, separating often to avoid clumping.
2. While turkey cooks, heat the milk in a second skillet or 2-quart pan over medium-low heat.
3. Sprinkle chili seasonings over the ground turkey, stir, then cover to keep warm.
4. In the bottom of each of four large soup bowls, crumble a serving (approx. 24 chips) tortilla chips.
5. Top each bowl of chips with approximately 1/2 pound (or 1/4) the cooked ground turkey.
6. Cover the ground turkey with 1/4 the shredded lettuce.
7. Top lettuce with 1/4 the chopped onions, tomatoes, and sliced (optional) jalapeño pepper.
8. To the heated milk, stir in each of the shredded cheeses until blended.
9. Pour a fourth (about 1/2 cup) of the cheese sauce over each fiesta salad.
10. Serve immediately. Makes four servings

Variation: Make the cheese sauce in the Vitamix. Heat milk and add to the container. Secure lid. Begin on Variable Speed 1 and slowly increase speed to 10 then High. Remove the plug from the Vitamix lid and gradually add the grated cheeses. When cheese sauce is ready, turn off the Vitamix and pour sauce over the Fiesta Salads directly from the container.