Taco Rice *drool*

I found this recipe in last summer's Penzey's spice catalog (love their spice store in Overland Park, it is SO much fun just walking around and smelling different spices, plus some of them, like the Sweet Curry, are absolutely the best!) - AND their quarterly catalog always has a bunch of really great recipes.

So, Taco Rice. Basically a taco filling over rice, topped with the usual stuff, this is INSANELY good. I could eat this every day for the rest of my life. I went for the slightly less healthy options, but if you use brown rice and ground turkey instead, and fatfree Greek yogurt as a topping, it's actually not TOO unhealthy... I made my own taco seasoning mix using this recipe from Allrecipes (went a little lighter on the chili powder and red pepper flakes), and it was perfect!

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked rice
1 lb. ground beef or turkey
4 TB. taco seasoning
3⁄4 cup water

1 cup salsa
1 TB. salsa salad seasoning, optional
1/2 cup shredded lettuce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Optional toppings: chopped onion, sliced black olives, diced avocado, sour cream.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef or turkey and cook for about 5 minutes until nice and browned, breaking it up into chunks and stirring it to brown all sides. Add the taco seasoning, cook, stirring, about 2 minutes. Add water, stir to combine, reduce heat to medium and cook 8-10 minutes until most of the water has cooked away and the meat is deliciously saucy.

If desired, mix salsa salad seasoning into salsa, set aside while meat is cooking.

Divide the rice among 4 bowls. Top each serving with seasoned meat. Add 1⁄8-1⁄4 cup salsa to each bowl and stir to combine. Top with shredded lettuce and cheese and serve with extra toppings on the side. SO, SO, SO good!!!