taco tuesday: doritos taco salad

Story time!

I know you came here for some Taco Tuesday goodness but hear me out for a sec...

Wanna know a weirdo quirk about me?

...I hate, hate, HATE eating with my hands.

Having to eat something with my hands gives me immense anxiety.

Always has.

To the point that I have 'established protocols' in place when I am faced with potential finger foods, including but absolutely not even closely limited to:

1. MOVIE THEATER POPCORN:  Never, ever, ever will you find me in a movie theater without my hair pulled back in a pony tail. Ever. I have this phobia of my long hair potentially getting into the buttery-greasy popcorn, thus making me smell like greasy popcorn all day long, that I just cannot overcome... so my hair gets pulled up.

Oh, and if you ever go to a movie theater and go to get napkins at the concession area and find that they're out... Sorry, i'm probably in the theater ;)

2. HAMBURGERS: Oh man.  Tammie Gee, I already know what you're thinking and you probably have more anxiety reminiscing about the screaming and crying than I do ;)

Listen...I was a kid that liked all. the. things. on a hamburger.  Not a ketchup only kid... a give me all the condiments, kid. And many times did that almost ruin mine and my mother's relationship, ha!

...nearly every. single. time. I would eat a hamburger, the hamburger would fall apart (because I had small hands, eating a THICK burger, ok?)... and I would cry and get so, so agitated... and pretty sassy about it.

So my mom started cutting my hamburger up for me and the rest is basically history ;)

3. PIZZA: Well I mean it wasn't until I married my husband that I was told that eating pizza with a fork wasn't the 'typical' way of eating pizza... hm... ok? Sure pal.

...cause picking that triangular shaped ball of grease up and just biting from it is just not going to work for me.

...but the most absolutely unacceptable finger food for me? That I do not even eat because of the potential for falling-apart-messiness is just so, so great?

TACOS.

Hi, my name is Emily, and no, I don't want to go to $5 taco Tuesday night with you and your friends.

I'll strongly pass.... or i'll go and cut up my taco and you'll look at me super funny (based on true stories!).

In my defense, my mom never really prepared me for a 'Taco Tuesday' loving society that we live in today.  I honestly cannot remember 'taco night' ever being on a meal rotation growing up (probably because she knew it wouldn't end well...)... but, wanna know what I do remember?

Doritos Taco Salad.

My mom showed up for Taco Tuesday.. in the form of a taco salad, that you ate WITH. A. FORK.

...and i'm forever and always here for that. AND! So are my kids..

9 out of 10 times I lob over making tacos, they chose a Doritos taco salad instead. #raisinggoodmen

So there you have it.  Fellow anti-finger-food-friends, feast your eyes on this yummy, clean, bad boy and add or take away whatever you'd like.. here's our typical go-to's:

this feeds 6 hungry, taco-ish loving folks plus leftovers!

SHOPPING LIST:

2 pounds lean ground beef 

2 packs of taco seasoning

Mexican cheese

Nacho Cheese Doritos (or as my kids call them, the red doritos!)

1 Avocado

Lettuce (we buy the preshredded lettuce)

3 roma tomatoes

Sour cream

Purple Onion (...call it like I see it!)

Mild Ortega Taco Sauce

DIRECTIONS:

Cook your ground beef until crumbly.  Add in your taco seasonings and a cup of mexican cheese.  Stir until combined. Crush up a bag of Doritos and prepare all of your toppings (chop 'em, slice 'em, you do you..), call your kiddos to dinner and 'make to order but-no-Liam-you-can't-just-have-cheese-and-meet-you-have-to-have-a-veggie' their taco salads... 

Enjoy with a FORK and NO MESS ;) #praisehimpraisehim

Until tomorrow,