Roasted Garlic Taco Salads

My day was not simple.  I may put on a great coverup (I use Clinique by the way) but I sometimes feel so overwhelmed.  I am the worst kind of procrastinator, but I also get my best work done this way.  I am in a catch 22 because I do inadvertently put things aside to do this or that.  For example I am planting a semi- edible  garden.  It is mostly flowers, but some are edible by me and not just for the hummingbirds.  I also have a lettuce border for said garden.  Now, I need to be composting it, mulching it planting and weeding it.  I also need to be harvesting my vegetable garden, instead I waited to the last minute to put together my photos for the fair.  So the plants wait to go into the ground because I am running helter skelter to get the photos done and mounted.  Should've done that during my weekend.  I did clean my pantry, and I mean deep cleaned for the weekend and It sparkles!  So after stressing and getting that done, working an 8 hour shift, come home walk my two sweet dogs and I still have to make dinner.  It just so happens Garlic is in season.  It also happens that my co worker grows an abundant amount of garlic and gave me plenty.  Lucky me I cook with garlic, A LOT.  It is so good for you, the health benefits out way any bad breath I may have. So I have garlic, I have lettuce from the garden, I have hamburger from eastern WA without any hormones and grass fed and I have cheese from Costco.  I also cooked up a big batch of black beans recently.  What am I envisioning.......  a healthy taco salad that's what.

Home Grown Garlic from a wonderful friend's beautiful garden

Now as most of you know I don't measure often.  Unless I am baking I rarely follow a recipe either.  I get ideas and then roll with it.  So bare with me and remember you really can't go wrong with adding or substituting.  Some of my best creations come out from doing just that.  So without further delay let me share my Roasted Garlic Taco Salad with you.


Roast Garlic, depending on the size this could be about 10 minutes to  nearly half an hour (I had large garlic) at 350 in the oven.  If you have one of those garlic roasters great, of not remember to put it on aluminum foil or the oil will drip and make a mess in your oven 

Meanwhile go out to the garden and pick lettuce, spinach or whatever you got.  Place it directly into the salad spinner so you can rinse and spin.  Easy as that.  A colander just doesn't get all the water out trust me.  I also prep my other ingredients.  Chop up a tomato or two, slice an avocado or two ;-)

Take out your hamburger, brown in skillet with 1/2 onion and a few peppers, which I also grow.  I used a mix of mini sweet bell peppers and a serrano pepper for a bit of kick.  If you are into spice punch it up with some cherry bomb's or jalapenos.

Hamburger is browning, lettuce is done, garlic is roasted so I throw it in with my hamburger for the final impact.  Leave it whole or mash as I do.  Work it in with the hamburger really good.  And finishing browning.  Turn off the stove,but not the oven.  Meanwhile I crunch chips (because those taco salad shells are really not that tasty) in a baking dish.  Grate cheese over chips, top with hamburger mix and black beans, put in the oven for about 5 minutes at the most.  Just enough to let the cheese melt.  Bring out your plate, put mix on top of your bed of salad.  Then I added all the other goodies.  The tomato, the cilantro, some extra peppers, avocado, chopped black olives and just a splash of fresh lime juice. Dinner is ready.  Yummmm O says this Country Girl.

See y'all tomorrow.  My menu says we will be having Pesto Salmon.  Tonight y'all have to sit tight.  There is a little cook off planned between my fellow blogger  http://www.hollidaysmtncafe.blogspot.com/ and I.  We are saving it for a later date, but I am making my very popular tacos tonight.  I can't share the recipe until the cook off ;-)  It will be worth it though, just keep on reading.