Creamy Taco Salad Bowl

A spooky looking evening at the lake with wispy clouds trying to cover the moon made me think of foreshadowing with the dreaded end of daylight savings time soon upon us.

The Autumn Villain

The villain crept by on the slant
towards the Southwest
and the sunset
With his shadow lengthening and following behind him

The brim of the enormous black hat he wore was pulled down
over his eyes, his nose, and his mouth
As if predicting
Days to come when he would have to travel
in almost total shadows
To make up for all his glaring summertime excesses
--Penance for both his suns and his sins

Big brim! It sloped down and even scraped the ground
And when the wind came, draped over the tops of trees

And an investigator
Trying to peer into his eyes
could see only falling leaves....

by Michael Bendik

Taco Salad Bowls are simple, fresh, and easy to make. You will need to purchase 

Cook's Notes: By making your own taco bowl at home you have full control over what goes into it. This taco salad is full of fresh produce, hearty protein with black beans and lots of other good things. The creamy ranch sauce may not be the picture of health, but everyone puts a bit of ranch on their salads, right? We’ve got a nice big, fresh salad here, and that’s what I call healthy. It was quite delicious and you can be creative with your add ins. 
Recipe makes 4 tortilla bowls and was adapted from cookierookie.com

Cooking tip: (courtesy of my husband) If tortilla shell is not pliable enough to form into the paper shell provided in the box, cover tortilla shell with a paper towel and microwave for 5 seconds. Then proceed to the baking step at 375 degrees for 7 minutes as suggested on the box.    

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 tablespoon dry taco seasoning mixture
• 1 small onion, diced
• 8 oz. tomato sauce
• Shredded romaine lettuce
• 1/2 cup each black beans rinsed and drained and black olives halved  
• 1/2 cup frozen corn (no need to thaw) 
• 1 cup diced grape tomatoes 
• 1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese 
• 1/2 cup thin salsa store-bought
• 3/4 cup creamy ranch dressing store-bought
• Garnish tortilla strips
• Optional avocado slices and diced green chiles 

Directions: 

• Follow the directions on the box to make 4 tortilla bowls. Brown meat with onions and 1 tablespoon of dry seasoning mix. Crumble meat mixture and wipe pan clean free of grease. Add in tomato sauce and simmer on low. Add in corn, black beans, diced tomatoes and olives. Simmer on low 5 minutes. Cool meat mixture before adding it to taco bowl. 
• Make dressing: whisk ranch dressing and salsa together. 
• Assembly: lettuce, meat mixture, dressing 

• Top with shredded cheese and tortilla strips.