Taco Salad

When we adopted TM,  we traveled to Vietnam in July. Vietnam is a tad warm in July. We managed okay, though we're thankful for an air conditioned hotel room. One day we went to visit the historic town of Hoi An. It was a beautiful town. I would have loved to wander around it more than we did, but the heat, sun, and humidity were overwhelming and we could only manage a very little bit. I would love to go back someday to actually get to appreciate it.

This afternoon when I went to check in the horses it felt exactly how Hoi An did. And with a record high of 100° and a heat index of 118°, it explains why I felt as though I was back in Vietnam. Needless to say we only went outside to care for animals, the rest of the day we were all hunkered down inside the house.

I did finish the actual planning portion of school, for both us and the classes I'm teaching. Now I just have to do some sorting and photocopying and that type of organizing stuff. 

Like yesterday, the heat also meant that we definitely didn't want a meal that required any sort of cooking. So here is my other go-to cold dinner. I had frozen chicken taco meat, so I just thawed that. Usually, I'll just cook the meat first thing in the morning before it gets too hot.

Taco Salad (I'm halving the amounts from what I usually do because I realize not everyone needs my quantities.)

1 pound taco meat (whatever you prefer with seasoning)

Diced tomatoes

Shredded cheddar cheese (8 oz)

1/2 head shredded iceberg lettuce

1 can sliced black olives

1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

Mix all together in a large bowl. Stir in Catalina dressing. (Or California French or make your own Catalina, I've done each of these.) 

Serve tortilla chips alongside. You can also mix them into the salad, but I think they get soggy if you have leftovers.