I am going to introduce you to one of my all time favorite weeknight recipes. The Turkey Taco Salad was one of the first recipes I created as an antidote to my weeknight take-out ordering when I thought I was too tired to cook. One can only eat honey walnut prawns so many times before turning into a fried crustacean.

I wanted to make something fresh, fast, and fantastic. I had some lettuce, tomatoes, avocado and ground turkey in my fridge. I mixed them all together (after cooking the turkey, of course) and the result tasted pretty good. The Turkey Taco Salad is ridiculously easy to make, and only takes about 15 minutes. If you feel intimidated about cooking dinner, try making the Turkey Taco Salad, and let me know how it turns out. It may even inspire you to try some other recipes!

Ingredients:

• 1 Lb. ground turkey breast
• 1 Tb. Olive Oil
• 2 Tb. of your favorite dressing (I like miso or balsamic)
• 1 bag of mixed greens (I like baby gems)
• 1 avocado
• 1 handful of cherry or other small tomatoes
• 1 handful of sugar snap peas
• 2-3 persian cucumbers
• 1/4 cup shredded cheese (optional)
• 1 tsp. Paprika
• 2 tsp. Cumin
• 1 tsp. ground red pepper
• 1 tsp. salt

Serves: 4

Time: 15 minutes 

Step 1: Cook the Turkey

The first thing you’ll do is to cook the turkey. Put a pan on the stove, and turn the heat up to high. Once the pan is hot, add the 2 Tb. of olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the ground turkey to the pan.

Step 2: Spice up Life!

Add the spices to the turkey. Sprinkle the Cumin, Paprika, Red Pepper and salt on the top of the turkey.

Step 3 : Break it up

Using a wooden spatula, break up the turkey into little pieces.

Step 4: Let the Turkey Cook

Brown the turkey, and cook on medium-high until the turkey has been cooked through, about 5 minutes. After the turkey is cooked (no more pink meat), shift the temperature down to low, and let the turkey simmer until the rest of the meal is ready. Stir occasionally.

Step 5 — Assemble the Salad

In a large bowl, pour out the contents of the salad bag. Then, place your washed produce on a large cutting board and chop up your produce.

Halve the tomatoes:

Bisect the cucumbers on the “long-side”, and then carefully chop thin “half-moon” slices. These taste really good in the salad as the surface area to dressing ration is quite large.

Cut off the ends of the sugar snap peas, and cut in half:

Peel and chop the avocado into bite-sized pieces. For instructions on how to cut up an avocado, follow the guidelines set out in the “Perfect Pork Chop Plate” recipe, which can be found at: https://hungryandtired.net/2014/03/31/the-perfect-pork-chop-plate/

Throw all of the produce into the bowl with the lettuce, top with 2 Tb. of your favorite dressing, and toss.

Step 6: Plate it!

Using a large serving spoon, place the salad on a large plate. Top with the ground turkey.

And, if it calls to you, add cheese!

Enjoy!