Recipe: Turkey Salsa Salad

Is that not a beautiful plate of deliciousness or what?

Oh how I love Spring. I love everything about it except how crazy our schedules get. Between Nick’s track practices, acting workshop, and Scout meetings, and Madeline’s soccer practices, having recipes like this is a total lifesaver.

That and the fact that groceries are delivered to our home.

Just sayin’.

I am all for convenience and automation whenever it saves me valuable time and means we can be total homebodies instead of schlepping around the grocery store aisles.

Most days.

If your schedule is just as crazy, you need this recipe in your life. I made it last week while Nick was finishing up homework before we dashed off to track, and he wandered into the kitchen just as I was finishing.

“What smells so delicious?”

He rarely comments on food smells (except onions, which he hates), so that was huge in and of itself.

I prepped it before we left for practice, and we sat down to dinner as soon as we walked in afterwards.

Perfection.

Whether you’re clean eating. Or doing high protein. Or no carb.

Or a plethora of other eating lifestyles.

This can fit that.

Super simple to make, packed with flavor, and completely guilt-free.

And even better? Pretty kid-approved. Madeline was slightly less enthusiastic, but still ate half her plate.

Which I consider a win.

Tomorrow? A book review!
Friday? The Atlantis Aquarium review!

Turkey Salsa Salad
Recipe courtesy of Get Skinny, Be Happy

Ingredients:
5 oz. ground turkey
1 tbsp taco seasoning
2 tbsp salsa (I used homemade salsa from this recipe)
1 cup romaine lettuce (I skipped the romaine and iceberg and used spinach)
1 cup iceberg lettuce
1/2 cup diced tomatoes (I used canned)
1 tbsp water

STEP 1: Brown the Turkey

Actually… whiten the turkey. Unlike with ground beef, ground turkey doesn’t really get brown, it turns white. I buy prepackaged ground turkey. 20 oz. packages are pretty easy to find and you can just cut it in fourths, and throw the rest in a Ziploc until tomorrow. Throw 5 oz. in a skillet and chop it up as you brown it.

Step 2: Drain the fat and Add Water

To be honest, sometimes I don’t drain the fat. I do make a point of buying only super-lean turkey, so this part is up to you. I like to walk on the wild side. Either way, add 1 tbsp of water.

STEP 3: Add Taco Seasoning

The meal has been pretty bland to this point. You may be getting nervous. Don’t worry, just throw on 1 Tbsp of Taco Seasoning.

STEP 4: Mix it all up and let it Simmer

Turn the heat on the stove to low and mix the seasoning and water with the meat until it is all evenly distributed. I like chopping the meat into tiny pieces while I cook it because it makes it a little more fun. Now, let the meat simmer for about 5 minutes. While it’s simmering…

STEP 5: Salad!

Get a big bowl and add your leafy greens. The recipe calls for iceberg and romaine, but I use whatever I have on hand. It’s hard to exactly measure a cup of greens, so I just throw in a large handful of each.

STEP 6: Tomatoes!

Dice 1/2 cup of tomatoes and throw those on your greens. I usually add a little black pepper to the tomatoes first.  This is starting to look like a meal!

STEP 7: Add meat and Salsa!

Your meat should now be spicy and delicious. Add that to the salad. Then on top of that, add 2 tablespoons of salsa.

Calories: 358, Fat Grams: 18, Cholesterol: 139, Carbohydrates: 9, Protein: 39

Cate’s note: This recipe is one serving. I tripled and there was enough for me and the kids, with an extra serving leftover.

Print it!