Ground Turkey Taco Salads

So one of my favorite ways to alter traditional tacos is to make it in to a salad! I'm definitely a volume eater so I love these taco salads because I get to eat more! It's not exactly the same thing since it's with lettuce instead of a taco shell, but I actually prefer the salad version. It's so much lighter and fresher, and really hits the spot! 

Another thing with this recipe is we used ground turkey. I honestly don't remember the last time I had regular ground beef. Beef is just usually not my protein of choice, not even in chili or regular hamburgers. I much prefer a turkey burger, bison/elk burger or even a veggie burger! With most recipes that call for ground meat, I always just use ground turkey. You can certainly use beef though! 

The idea with this salad is pretty simple: you have everything you'd put on a taco but instead of a shell you just use lettuce! 

For the ground turkey, it was just cooked on the stove top with some onions and seasoned to taste with the typical taco seasonings. Some salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, and a spicy chili blend that we have. Honestly, I'm not sure how much was used, just a few dashes of each. You can certainly make it as spicy or mild as you like. Amanda and our mom are not big fans of spicy so we definitely had this seasoned on the milder side! 

While the meat was browning and cooking, I prepped the toppings. I diced up yellow and orange bell peppers and pearl tomatoes. For the dressing I used an organic salsa and for a bit of a taco-like crunch some tortilla chips! I personally find the tortilla chips to be a must for taco salads! 

It also served as a great appetizer as I was chopping up all the veggies :)