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Taco Salad

March 19th, 2012

Better late than never, right?

I am writing this late at night in a hotel room in New York. Eating Cracker Jacks.

I left for the airport this morning before the sun had come up on a last minute trip to New York to film more episodes for my upcoming HGTV show. Well, not “mine”! But I am a very happy participant!

Normally I am absolutely down in the dumps leaving my family. However the last week was one of those weeks that had me panting on the window waiting for my cab this morning.

I had not left the house for a solid week. Oh, except for a very fast and frantic trip to the pediatrician. Oh, and another one to the laptop emergency room- more about that later.

I’m not sure how many of you out there are mom’s? But even if you are not, hopefully you will sympathize that there is nothing worse than a sick child. Or two. That were home all week, being sick, and being cranky.

Another highlight was when someone accidentally poured 16 ounces of ice water into my laptop that has not been backed up in 6 weeks.

Lets just say that my computer, may it rest in peace, did not survive that little accident. But God Bless Ethan at the Mac store, my Hard Drive did.

I think all of that nonsense calls for some comfort food. How about a taco salad?

Taco Salad, serves 6

Burrito sized Flour tortillas
Vegetable oil
Kosher salt

Braised and shredded Pork Shoulder

Toppings:
2 cans Black Beans or Pinto Beans (rinsed, drained and gently warmed)
Cotija Cheese (or you could use shredded Monterey jack or cheddar)
Shredded iceberg lettuce
Red onions
Cilantro
Sour cream
Guacamole
Salsa

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

To make the taco shells, you need an oven proof bowl. I used an 8x round pyrex baking dish- anything you can mold the tortilla inside of will work.

Lay the tortilla inside the bowl and push the center down, forming a bowl shape.

Very lightly brush the surface of the tortilla with vegetable oil and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Bake the tortillas about 10-15 minutes or until golden. Set aside to cool and repeat.

These can be made the morning of.

You will also want to start the Pork early in the day.

To Assemble:

Pile beans, pork and desired toppings high in the taco shell and eat hot!

Enjoy!