Taco Tuesday, Remixed

Does your family observe Taco Tuesday? We don't do it religiously on Tuesdays, but we do eat tacos quite often. They are one of our go-to meals. But because there are only three of us, we often have a small amount of leftover taco meat and fixings left over. That usually forms the basis of my lunch the next day, but I don't always want a simple reheated taco.

Enter the taco salad.

But not just any taco salad. I also use the leftover soft tortillas to make -- wait for -- a cheese quesadilla on the side. It's like a salad and sandwich lunch with a bit of a Mexican accent. Ole!

Behold the glory that is this concoction:

The actual ingredients in this salad will of course depend on what you have leftover after taco night, but if you want to plan your leftovers so you can replicate how I made this, here's what I did:

I sauteed the leftover red pepper and onion in a pan with a smidge of olive oil (yes, that is an exact measurement) and added in some shoestring carrots and the leftover taco meat (ground turkey, in this case). Although the meat was already seasoned from the night before I added in some Mrs. Dash Chipotle seasoning when I warmed it up just to give it a bit of extra "oomph."

While that was sauteeing, I made the quesadilla. This was a simple matter of throwing some sliced Monterey Jack with Jalapeno cheese slices and the leftover shredded cheddar from taco night.

Now it's time to assemble. I always keep the leftover taco fixings (lettuce, onions, peppers, cheese, etc.) in a bowl, so all I did was mix it all together to make a ridiculously easy salad while using up leftovers. Top with your veggie/turkey mixture and any dressing you like. Slice your quesadilla up and place around the salad. Serve with a couple of wedges of lime to squeeze over your salad (a must for me).

Voila! The reinvention of taco leftovers into a whole new meal!

#recipe #tacotuesday #leftovers