Categories: January2011, Main Dish, SBF, SBF1, Tex-Mex, beans, beef

Ingredients

• For meat/bean mixture:
• 1 lb. low fat ground beef (less than 10% fat)
• 1/2 tsp. Spike Seasoning
• 1 tsp. olive oil (to saute ground beef, use more or less oil depending on your pan)
• 1 can black beans (can use kidney beans or small red beans)
• 1 T chile powder (New Mexico chile powder preferred, this is a very mild ground red chile powder)
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp. ground Chipotle chile peppers (or use any other type of hot chile powder or chili sauce)
• (You can also substitute 2 T Kalyn's Taco Seasoning for the spices used here.)
• 2 cups water
• For each salad (this makes a large whole meal salad:
• 3 cups romaine lettuce, torn, washed, and spun dry
• 3 T ranch dressing (I make the dressing from Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix that's combined with buttermilk and light mayo)
• 3/4 cup meat/bean mixture (or more)
• 1 cup diced tomatoes or cherry tomatoes (if using large tomatoes, drain them in a colander after chopping)
• 1/4 cup grated cheese (I use low-fat four cheese Mexican blend)

Directions

1. Dump can of black beans into a colander in the sink, then rinse with cold water until no more foam appears. (This removes some of the undigestible carbohydrates that can make beans hard to digest.) Let drain while you cook meat.

2. Heat olive oil in large heavy frying pan, then add ground beef, breaking apart with your fingers. Cook beef over medium high heat until well browned, breaking apart with metal turner as it cooks. When beef is browned, add beans, chile powder, cumin, Chipotle chile powder, and water and simmer until nearly all water is evaporated. Let cool slightly before using on salad. (This can be made ahead and frozen. To use after freezing, thaw and then reheat for a couple of minutes in a microwave.)

3. To assemble salad, put lettuce in large plastic bowl and toss with desired amount of dressing. Add slightly warm beef/bean mixture and diced tomatoes and gently toss. Arrange on serving plate and sprinkle with grated cheese.

Email to a friend | Print this recipe | Back