Chicken Taco Salad

Today I was looking for a recipe to use some of the lettuce that needs to be harvested from my garden.  I decided that Taco Salad sounded pretty good, and I have a lot of chicken in the freezer, so this is what I came up with.

Chicken Taco Salad
2 c. shredded lettuce
Tortilla chips
2-3 c. diced, cooked chicken
1 (4 oz.) can green chilies, undrained
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 (16 oz.) can kidney beans, drained
1 med. size can black beans
1 c. grated Cheddar cheese (may substitute Monterey Jack cheese)
1 lg. tomato, chopped
1 med. cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1/3 c. ripe olives, sliced
1 c. sour cream
1/2 c. salsa or taco sauce

Place shredded lettuce in bottom of platter or 2 1/2 quart bowl. Combine chicken, chilies (with liquid), chili powder, cumin salt, and garlic powder. Mix well to distribute spices. Allow to sit in refrigerator for 1 hour for flavors to enhance.

To prepare salad, layer beans, cheese, tomatoes, cucumber, and olives over lettuce.

In small bowl, combine sour cream and taco sauce or salsa to be used as salad dressing. When ready to serve, heat tortilla chips and break chips on plate; serve salad on top. Place salad dressing on top. Serve individually.

Instead of the listed seasonings, I substituted a packet of hot taco seasoning.  I also left out the cucumber, but added onion to the veggie mix.  I followed the rest of the directions as written.  We did not serve it over tortilla chips, just the salad alone.

How did it turn out?
This salad was not too bad.  It was a little spicy due to the hot taco packet I used, and it tasted a lot like a taco, which is good.  I think our lettuce was a little over ripe, and therefore, a little bitter tasting.  I think I would have liked it better with a fresher lettuce.  I also would have preferred less beans.  If I make this again, I will use only one can of beans.  Without the lettuce, this would make a good chunky dip for tortilla chips.

What about the kids?
This was not their favorite.  Each ate a couple of bites consisting of the chicken and beans, but picked out the other items.

Rating:  3.5 out of 5