A healthy taco salad with layers of lettuce, meat, beans, cheese, and more!

1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 small clove garlic, minced (or a sprinkling of garlic salt)
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
Tapatio hot sauce (or hot sauce of your choice), to taste (I like about 2 teaspoons of Tapatio -- this really adds a great flavor!!)
1 can (15 ounces) dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 large head iceberg lettuce, shredded or chopped
2 cups torn fresh spinach leaves, optional
2 cups Fritos (or other small yellow corn chips)
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
3 cups fresh diced tomatoes
1 cup sliced black olives (drained)
sour cream, for serving

1. Brown ground beef with onion and garlic. Drain well and return to pan.

2. Add water, paprika, chili powder, cumin, pepper, salt, hot sauce, and beans. Cook and stir over medium-low heat until hot.

3. Mix lettuce and spinach together.

4. To serve salad, layer each platter or plate with a thick layer of the lettuce mixture.

Top with a small sprinkling of corn chips.

Add a layer of the meat and bean mixture,

and top with shredded cheese.

Add a decent layer of tomatoes,

sprinkle with sliced black olives, and dab with sour cream. Enjoy! :)

This is a delicious, well-balanced full-meal salad! Since there are substantial amounts of greens and tomatoes, it really does have a "salad" feel with a great taco taste!!

I like the meat to be fairly spicy, so that it adds plenty of flavor to the salad -- don't skip the hot sauce (Tapatio really is the best kind in our opinion!) because it adds the "zing" that plain old chili powder, pepper, or cumin can't fully compensate for. ;)

I love mexican foods and this is one of my favorite recipes. My rating: 10/10.