Black Bean Taco Salad

Adapted from: https://peasandcrayons.com/black-bean-taco-salad/

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

SALAD
2-3 cups chopped romaine lettuce (I used bagged salad)
1 red bell pepper
1 cup black beans (drained + rinsed if canned) (I used a full can of pinto)
1 cup corn (canned or steamed from fresh/frozen) (I used a full can of corn)
½ cup freshly diced or chopped tomatoes (I used more than this but didn't measure)
1/4-1/3 cup sliced green onion (greens and whites)
½ cup grated cheddar cheese (I added more)
¼ cup crushed tortilla chips (I didn't crush any; I just served them on the side)

CREAMY SALSA DRESSING

 ¼ cup sour cream
2 TBSP red salsa
½ tsp ground cumin
⅛ tsp salt or season to taste
½ lime (didn't have any, so I skipped it this time)

Instructions
To make the dressing, combine sour cream with salsa, cumin, and salt. Juice half a lime and whisk into the dressing. If your salsa is chunky and you'd like a more uniform dressing, simply puree using a blender or immersion blender.
For the salad, cook corn via your favorite method. You can grill or boil it right on the cobb then cut it off for this salad, or simply steam from frozen.
Chop all your veggies up super small for a little bit of goodness in every bite. Finely chop romaine lettuce, bell pepper, and tomatoes, and thinly chop/slice green onion. Combine with black beans, corn, crushed tortilla chips, and grated cheese. Toss to combine. **(I didn't mix the bagged salad in with the other ingredients so things wouldn't get soggy. I mixed the veggies and beans and added some of of the creamy dressing, but then I put the chips and salad on plates and added the veggie mix on top.) For a little dressing in every bite, toss salad in a few TBSP of dressing and mix to coat right before serving. Serve with extra toppings/dressing on the size for a custom salad. (My kids added cheese salsa and guacamole.)

Notes
Recipe yields 4 side salads or 2 large meal-sized taco salads.

Vegetarian Sheet Pan Nachos

Source: https://easygoodideas.com/vegetarian-sheet-pan-nachos/
Prep Time 5minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients
1 - 16 oz cans refried beans
1 pkt of taco seasoning
Tortilla Chips
2 ½ C. shredded cheddar cheese
½ Red Onion diced
1-2 Roma tomatoes diced
1 16 oz can corn
6 oz can of olives sliced

Instructions
In a medium pan, heat the refried beans, add 1 pkt of taco seasoning. Heat until warmed. Set aside.
Place a layer of tortilla chips on a sheet pan, top with 1 cup shredded cheese, red onion, tomatoes, corn and olives.
Add a second layer of cheese, onion, tomatoes, corn and olives. Top with refried beans by dropping small spoonfuls across nachos. Lastly sprinkle the last ½ cup of cheese across the top.
Set your oven to 450 degrees and place nachos on the middle rack, bake 5-7 min until the cheese is melted.
Remove and serve with your favorite salsa and/or sour cream. Enjoy!

Chicken Taco Salad or Burritos

Adapted from: https://butterwithasideofbread.com/fiesta-ranch-chicken-pasta-salad/)
This was the original recipe...and I didn't like it as a pasta salad. However, I did like it without the noodles as a filling for tacos.

Ingredients

3 boneless chicken breasts cooked and diced
1 packet taco seasoning mix
15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
16 oz corn frozen or canned
1 cup onion chopped
1 pepper chopped (ed, orange, or yellow)
3 oz olives sliced
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
2 tomatoes chopped

Instructions
Combine all of the other ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Serve cold with tortilla chips for taco salad or warm with tortillas for burritos.