This is not a cooking blog. But being a single guy who loves to eat, I occasionally come across a recipe for something that tastes really good and that even I, with my limited abilities in the kitchen, can cook. There are a few "standard" dishes that I make when I have company over. And I found a new one!
I came across this recipe online for a...kind of..."southwest salad" type of thing. I don't know what you call it. And of course now I can't find the video to share the link. It is incredibly simple and easy to make. And it is the most delicious thing I've ever eaten. Yes, in my life. It's so simple that even a basement-dwelling 20-something who can't even make toast can cook up this dish on a hot-plate and make it come out incredible. Trust me.
YOU'LL NEED:
1 pound of ground turkey
1 can of black beans (rinsed)
1 can of corn
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 big bag of shredded cheese (your choice)
1 big bag of tortilla chips (I prefer flour to corn)
OPTIONAL:
1. Two avocados, cut up and put in a bowl with some lime juice
2. Sour cream
3. Salsa (mild or hot, your choice)
DIRECTIONS:
1. Cook the ground turkey. Drain, return to pan, add the taco seasoning and 2/3 cup of water. Mix it all together.
2. Mix in the corn and black beans.
3. Add a generous handful of shredded cheese. (I use a "Mexican blend." You, use what you got.)
4. Cover and stick in a 350 degree oven for ten to fifteen minutes to let the cheese melt.
5. Done! Bring the whole thing to the table. Be careful, it's hot! Use a trivet and pot-holders.
NOTES:
You'd rather use ground beef or ground pork? Knock yourself out. In fact it would probably taste better with ground beef. I just like to limit the amount of red meat I take in, and ground turkey works fine.
If you don't have a fry pan with a cover that you can stick in the oven, no problem. Once you get everything all mixed up, just transfer it to a casserole dish, cover with tin foil and pop it in the oven. (But seriously, go buy a good quality fry pan - a big, oven-safe one with vertical sides and a cover.)
I serve this over broken up tortilla chips (nachos style). Or you could serve the chips on the side.
After I scoop out a huge mound onto my plate, I'll top it with salsa, sour cream, avocado, if I have that stuff. (And of course, MORE CHEESE!) But the dish by itself is awesome.
I like the fact that there's no rice or potatoes in this dish, although you could certainly serve this over rice. And of course, while you're cooking, you could add cilantro, or chili peppers, or onions, or cut up tomatoes...I mean, the list of things you could add to this dish is endless. But me, I keep it simple. The turkey (with taco seasoning), corn and black beans (and cheese!) all by themselves served over tortilla chips is marvelous.
This size of this basic recipe works if you live alone or there are only two of you in the household. There won't be much left over. I usually double the recipe. It will get eaten.
No, this is not high-class, gourmet food. You won't see Giada De Laurentiis making this dish on her Food Network TV show. It's about as basic as can be. But trust me on this... if you're in the mood for some easy, delicious comfort food, it doesn't get much better than this.
3 comments:
Now you’re speaking my language, Bob B! I’m
always looking for recipes with ground turkey as I generally don’t eat red meat. You had me at “melt the cheese!” Will try this soon!
We too eat a fair amount of ground turkey in our household. In fact, I just made chili out of it yesterday for my oldest daughter who needs soft foods for a day or two post orthodontic visit. Another one we use, mostly for tacos the old fashioned way, is venison since I have a pretty good source. It is much leaner than ground beef. I make a similar version of this in a crockpot as a dip to go with chips during snack time get together events.
Ed, this would make an awesome dip! I might "loosen" it up a bit if I were going to use it that way though. The way I make it, it's not very "soupy." But it could be! The way I make this dish, you really could put it in a soft tortilla and eat it like a taco or burrito, and it wouldn't be dripping down your arm like a gyro/souvlaki (which we also love!).
And yes Bob, I usually substitute ground turkey or ground pork as much as possible since the day long ago that I found out that I have difficulty digesting red meat. I had to cut back, but thankfully not cut red meat out completely. What would be the point of living if you did that? I make a turkey chili that is, if I do say so myself, out of this world! It ain't fancy..and it ain't particularly spicy-hot, but damn, it's good!
The problem with ground turkey is that because it's comparatively dry (I guess), you have to use a little more of it when you use it to replace ground beef. Fortunately, ground turkey often comes in 1.25-lb packages!
Over the years, I've gathered a number of recipes for things that I can do pretty well. They're all simple...usually one-pot meals. I'm actually thinking of starting a YouTube channel that would be aimed at single guys who want to cook but aren't very good at it but want to be able to put something together if they have a date and want to impress her, or maybe just a bunch of guys that are going to come over to watch football on a Sunday afternoon. I know it's easy to just order pizza (or anything else in these days of Uber Eats and GrubHub). But with very little effort, you can make a kick-ass meal.
Man! Once I get started thinking about food...look out!
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