This retro frito taco salad recipe came out of my mom’s recipe box. Made with spinach, taco seasoned ground meat, onion, tomato, pinto beans, radish, cheese, Catalina dressing, and of course Fritos corn chips.

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This Frito Taco Salad is the next recipe card that I pulled from those that my mom gave me over the years. But she often didn’t supply a source so I initially wasn’t entirely sure where this one originated.

While searching the internet to determine if this was one of her own creations, I discovered that there are many interpretations of the same dish. Some use Romaine lettuce, beans, corn, or taco seasoning, bur the most consistent thing was ground meat, Catalina dressing, and Fritos corn chips.

Her recipe originally did not call for taco seasoning (just salt and pepper) or pinto beans but I decided to add them because I felt like to be a taco salad it needed taco seasoning, right? After all, where would the taco flavor come from if I didn’t use the taco seasoning? But she did use spinach (albeit half as much) instead of Romaine and radishes so I kept those.

Have you ever had a Frito taco salad before? What’s in your version? This salad actually reminds me a lot of a Doritos salad or as I made it, Cheetos salad. Also similar to a walking taco, or again in my case a Cheetos walking taco (do you see the trend here?).

MOM'S FRITO TACO SALAD WITH CATALINA DRESSING

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Yield: 4 servings Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cooking Time: 10M 10M

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 lb. ground beef or turkey
• 1 package of taco seasoning (or 2.5 Tbsp homemade)
• 1/3 + 1/2 cup Catalina dressing
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 5 oz. fresh baby spinach
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1/2 cup sliced radishes
• 1 (14 oz.) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or a blend)
• 16 oz. bag Fritos corn chips

Directions

1. Add oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add meat and brown, breaking into smaller pieces, until no longer pink on the outside, about 5 minutes. Add taco seasoning, 1/3 cup dressing, onion, and simmer for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
2. In a large bowl, combine spinach, tomato, radish, beans, cheese, and remaining 1/2 cup dressing*. Add meat mixture and and Fritos, then toss to combine. Serve immediately.

Notes

*Stop here if you are preparing ahead of time. Otherwise the Fritos will get soggy.

Source: My mom gave me this recipe in May of 2007, but while digging through old recipe boxes of hers I found a similar recipe from a Charlene Reid of West Junior High School that originally used 1/2 head of lettuce.

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These zesty banh mi sliders are assembled with layers of ginger-marinaded pork, pickled carrots and daikon, avocado, cucumber, and sriracha mayo.

Since the New Year I’ve kind of overloaded you with dessert recipes, with only one being savory, and I figured it was due time to balance things out a bit. Sure this blog may be called The Spiffy Cookie, but I never intended it to be dessert-only. So let’s dive into the savory side, shall we?

The inspiration for today’s recipe actually came from discovering the new Diet Coke® flavors while doing my usual grocery shopping at Kroger and deciding to create a recipe pairing. I chose Diet Coke® Zesty Blood Orange, but there is also Feisty Cherry, Fresh Ginger Lime, and Twisted Mango. Heck they even come in sleek cans, in packs or singles so you can try one of each. For all your Diet Coke purists, don’t worry they have not changed the original despite the exterior facelift. But if you’re willing to take a break from the ordinary, which flavor would you choose?

What kind of food would you think pairs well with Diet Coke Zesty Blood Orange? This bold and yet refreshing flavor needs to shine! How about something exotic, and yet approachable? I’ve been on a banh mi kick lately and have made a taco version several times in recent months. So I took that same recipe and adapted it into sliders, perfect for dinner or hanging out with your friends – just make sure you buy enough Diet Coke Zesty Blood Orange to go around!

While this recipe has a lot of components, each part is easy to execute. The pork marinades in a ginger mixture while you quick pickle carrots and daikon (I actually couldn’t find daikon and used radishes instead) and mash up some avocado. After cooking the pork, all that’s left is assembly, topping it off with some cucumber slices, sriracha mayo, and maybe you’d even like a fresh slice of jalapeno on there. It is being paired with Diet Coke Zesty Blood Orange after all, may as well play up the zesty!

Can’t decide which flavor to try first? There’s a quiz for that! Because who can resist a quiz telling you what kind of Diet Coke you match with? I got Diet Coke Twisted Mango and now I want to make tacos with a mango salsa on top to go with it… which Diet Coke flavor is your match?

Two years ago: Blackberry Tart

Three years ago: Maple Walnut Blondies

Four years ago: Southwestern Oven-Fried Chicken Salad with Avocado Dressing

Five years ago: Bacon-Cheddar Cauliflower Chowder

BANH MI PORK SLIDERS

Makes 8 sliders

Ingredients:

PORK

4 boneless pork chops

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 Tbsp olive oil, plus 1 tsp for cooking

2-inch knob of ginger, peeled and minced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp sriracha

Salt and pepper, to taste

PICKLED CARROTS AND DAIKON

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 Tbsp honey

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 cup matchstick carrots

1 cup matchstick daikon (or radish)

AVOCADO

2 avocados, mashed

2 tsp lime juice

1/4 tsp garlic powder

ADDITIONAL TOPPINGS & ASSEMBLY

8 slider buns, toasted

Thinly sliced cucumbers

Cilantro

Sriracha mayo

Sliced jalapenos

Directions:

1. Add your pork and all marinade ingredients to a zip top bag. Close and massage marinade until mixed and evenly dispersed. Marinade at room temperature for 30 minutes, or up to overnight in the fridge.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, honey, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Add carrots and daikon, tossing to coat. Set aside (or cover and refrigerate if marinading for longer than 30 minutes).
3. In a small bowl, mash the avocados, then stir in the lime juice and garlic powder. Set aside (or cover and refrigerate if marinading for longer than 30 minutes).
4. When the pork is done marinading heat your grill (or skillet) over medium high heat and coat with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Cook pork on both sides until cooked through (about 4 minutes per side depending on thickness or until internal thermometer reads 135F). Remove to a plate, tent with foil and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing (pork will continue to cook and reach 140F).
5. To assemble, spread the mashed avocado onto the bottom half of ear slider bun. Add pork and top with pickled carrots and daikon, cucumber, cilantro, sriracha mayo, and jalapeno.

Source: Adapted from The Garlic Diaries.

Tropical, sweet, and spicy flavors all come together in these oven-fried chicken tacos. Made with coconut almond granola, these crispy chicken tacos pair exceptionally well with a sweet and spicy mango crema.

Granola fried chicken? Have I completely lost my mind? Now just hold on a minute before you hit the X button to rid yourself of this crazy notion. Don’t think of it as granola crusted chicken but rather crispy chicken with a coconut-almond-oat crust. Which then gets covered with mango crema, avocado, radish, red onion, and cilantro. See, doesn’t that sound lovely? I knew you would understand.

The reasoning behind this creation is that I am entering it into Golden Girl Granola’s Blogger Recipe Challenge. Sure I could have made an egg breakfast casserole or French toast of sorts but that would be expected. I wanted to throw in something inventive yet still easy to make and oven-fried chicken is one of my favorite hacks for creating crispy like-fried chicken at home without all the scary hot oil. Seriously, I love turning just about anything into breading for chicken.

The Golden Girl original granola flavor is anything but bland with coconut and almonds, resulting in perfectly tropical and nutty chicken tenders for these tacos. The sweetness of the granola is also complimented by the sweet yet spicy mango crema which is drizzled over the top. All this flavor sits on top of a smashed avocado, sliced radish, red onion, cilantro, and a soft flour (or corn) tortilla.

One year ago: Greek Hummus Dip with Homemade Pita Chips

Two years ago: Breakfast Stromboli

Four years ago: Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Cookies

OVEN-FRIED GRANOLA CHICKEN TACOS WITH MANGO CREMA

Serves 3

Ingredients:

CHICKEN

1 cup Golden Girl original granola

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 egg white

6 small chicken tenders

MANGO CREMA

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/2 cup diced mango

Zest and juice of 1/2 lime

1 Tbsp finely minced cilantro

1 Tbsp honey

1 tsp sriracha

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Salt, to taste

TACOS

6 small flour or corn tortillas

1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and smashed

3 radishes, sliced

Cilantro

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Arrange a wire rack on a large baking sheet; coat rack with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Place the granola in a food processor (or blender) and pulse until finely ground. Place the granola crumbs into a shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add egg white to a third bowl and lightly beat. Dip the chicken into the egg and then coat with the granola crumbs. Arrange on prepared rack and lightly spray tops with cooking spray. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden and cooked through.
3. While the chicken cooks, prepare the crema. In a food processor (or blender) place all the ingredients. Pulse until combined and then process until smooth. Set aside.
4. To assemble, spread avocado evenly on all 6 tortillas, top with chicken, radishes, crema, and cilantro. Serve immediately.

Source: Adapted from my Oven-Fried Chicken & Biscuit Waffles & Oven-Fried Avocado Tacos with Cilantro Lime Creme.

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