Southwestern-Flavored Ground Beef or Turkey for Tacos & Salad Recipe
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Southwestern-Flavored Ground Beef or Turkey for Tacos & Salad

By: USA WEEKEND columnist Pam Anderson 
"With Southwestern-Flavored Ground Beef, you can simultaneously make tonight's dinner and tomorrow's lunch. Just save out and refrigerate some of the taco meat and fixings such as shredded cheese and lettuce, plus chopped scallions and tomatoes. A good-looking salad like this will draw potential lunch traders. More likely than not, they'll be out of luck."

This Kitchen Approved Recipe has an average star rating of 4.4 Rate/Review | Read Reviews (181)

 

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Original Recipe Yield 10 servings
 

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 3 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 tablespoons chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 3 pounds lean ground beef or turkey
  • 1 (14.5 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1/4 cup cornmeal

Directions

  1. Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet until shimmering. Add onion; saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder, oregano and cumin; saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add beef or turkey and cook, stirring often, until it loses its raw color. Stir in tomatoes; simmer to blend flavors, about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in cornmeal; cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens, almost instantly. Cool and refrigerate (or serve warm for dinner as tacos or taco salad).

Footnotes

  • TO PACK FOR LUNCH
  • Put a portion of taco meat in a small container. Put some salsa in another small container. Put lettuce, tomatoes, bell peppers, scallions and shredded cheese in a plastic salad container or other lidded container. Pack tortilla chips in a baggie. Add a plastic fork and knife to the lunchbox.
  • Copyright 2004 USA WEEKEND and columnist Pam Anderson. All rights reserved.

Nutritional Information open nutritional information

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 248 | Total Fat: 10.2g | Cholesterol: 84mg Powered by ESHA Nutrient Database

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The reviewer gave this recipe 5 stars. This recipe averages a 4.4 star rating.
Reviewed on Mar. 3, 2007 by PULLEYHEATHER   view full review
This was just great! I halved the recipe and used 1 cup of salsa in place of the diced...
The reviewer gave this recipe 5 stars. This recipe averages a 4.4 star rating.
Reviewed on Jul. 3, 2006 by I Love to Eat   view full review
Three pounds of ground meat for 10 servings seemed quite a lot to me. I made this for a...
The reviewer gave this recipe 5 stars. This recipe averages a 4.4 star rating.
Reviewed on Feb. 22, 2005 by LOVE 2 COOK   view full review
I used lean ground turkey and it came out great for tacos (and almost fat-free!). The...
The reviewer gave this recipe 5 stars. This recipe averages a 4.4 star rating.
Reviewed on Jul. 17, 2006 by groovy isle girl cooks   view full review
I have tried a similiar dish but never with the cornmeal nor fresh spices - it made a whole...
The reviewer gave this recipe 3 stars. This recipe averages a 4.4 star rating.
Reviewed on Mar. 25, 2005 by RUKLIN   view full review
I may have used too much meat for spices. As a result, my husband was not fond of it.
The reviewer gave this recipe 4 stars. This recipe averages a 4.4 star rating.
Reviewed on May 7, 2006 by Spork Boy   view full review
This was very tasty, and didn't take a lot of time or effort to make. Just top the tacos and...
The reviewer gave this recipe 5 stars. This recipe averages a 4.4 star rating.
Reviewed on Apr. 24, 2007 by Gina   view full review
I gave this recipe 5 stars. The meat has a very good flavor. I will never buy packaged...
The reviewer gave this recipe 5 stars. This recipe averages a 4.4 star rating.
Reviewed on Jun. 5, 2007 by Oh Girlfriend   view full review
good stuff! i'm not a fan of the spicey envelopes of salty junk my mom normally uses to make...
The reviewer gave this recipe 5 stars. This recipe averages a 4.4 star rating.
Reviewed on May 25, 2006 by MHBMHB   view full review
Delicious and tasty. Did not change anything. Everyone loved. Can use in soft tacos. Thanks...
The reviewer gave this recipe 5 stars. This recipe averages a 4.4 star rating.
Reviewed on Feb. 18, 2009 by Scotdog Supporting Member (Click to learn more about Supporting Membership)  view full review
This was great! I'm trying to incorporate more Ground Turkey in our diets. I did cook this...

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