Who Eats Mexican for the 4th of July? - Taco Salad / Texas Straw Hats

Apparently we do. Camille suggested Mexican for Sunday dinner when I was planning the menus, and it sounded like a great, easy idea. And there were these two recipes that I wanted to try. Caryn got to be "Vanna" for this photo because she didn't get in the breakfast shots. She and Jon and Camille have all helped tons with the huge amounts of food we've consumed this weekend - preparing that is, not necessarily eating. The first picture is of the Taco Salad. We modified it a bit in that we left the ingredients separate for people to assemble the salad as they wished. And we used Ranch or Thousand Island dressing instead of Russian.

TACO SALAD
1 pound ground beef, browned
1 pound canned kidney beans, drained
1/2 onion, chopped
2-3 chopped tomatoes
1 avocado chopped (optional)
1 head lettuce, torn
8 ounces grated cheddar cheese
1 bag taco chips crumbled
8 ounces bottled Russian dressing
Mix ground beef (browned), kidney beans and onion and refrigerate until chilled. Mix tomatoes, avocado (if desired), lettuce and cheese. Toss with ground beef mixture. Add crumbled taco chips and top with Russian dressing.

The other recipe we tried was the Texas Straw Hats. The meat mixture for this is delicious - just the right amount of spicey. Some used it for tacos or burritos, too. The chips we used for both recipes were Fritos because they'e my favorite. Any taco chip would work just fine.

TEXAS STRAW HATS
1 cup chopped onion
2/3 cup chopped green pepper
2 pounds ground beef
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup catsup
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2/3 cup chopped celery
3 tbsp. fat
2 to 3 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. thyme
2 6-oz. cans tomato paste
2 cups water
Dash Tabasco sauce
In large skillet, cook onion, celery, and green pepper in hot fat until tender but not brown. Add beef; brown lightly. Add remaining ingredients except chips and cheese. Simmer uncovered 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Serve on corn chips; top generously with shredded sharp American cheese.