Taco Bowl with Guac-a-salsa Salad

I love mexican food.  Hubs and I have it a few times a week.  I could honestly eat guacamole every single night.  Love it.  I made this recipe last week when hubs was working late.  A friend came over for dinner and I didn't want to spend a lot of time cooking. I also wanted to use the ground turkey I already had bought.  I've made taco bowls many times before, but enjoyed the smashed chips at the bottom of this one.  There were a few ingredients I omitted because I didn't have them at home and others because of my no dairy diet. I'm sure this would have been even better with some sour cream and cheese on the top, but it was a great (and healthy) dinner just the way it was.  Enjoy!

Taco Bowls with Guac-a-Salsa Salad

Courtesy of Rachel Ray

Ingredients

1 sack corn tortilla chips, any brand or color (yellow, blue, red, white) will do

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped

2 medium onions, chopped

3 to 4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon chili powder

Coarse salt and black pepper

1 cup water

2 firm Haas avocados

3 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped

Handful cilantro leaves, chopped

Juice of 1 lemon

2 sacks, 10 ounces, 2 cups each shredded Monterey Jack or sharp Cheddar cheese

Directions

Lightly crush the chips by popping open the bag and giving the chips a few light whacks with a frying pan – careful that they don't fly out of the sack! Hold the bag loosely at the top with 1 hand while you crush the chips with the other.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil – 2 turns of the pan. Add the beef to the skillet, brown and crumble it, 5 minutes. To the browned meat, add half the jalapeno peppers, 3/4 of the chopped onions and all of the garlic. Season the meat with cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Cook together 5 minutes more, then add the water and reduce heat to low. Adjust salt, to taste.

Halve and separate the avocados. Remove pit with a spoon. With the skin in tact, using a small knife, dice the avocado while still in the skin. Scoop out the diced flesh and place in a bowl. Combine tomatoes, remaining onions, jalapenos, and cilantro gently with avocado and dress the salad with the juice of 1 lemon, extra-virgin olive oil, and salt, to your taste.

Layer a 1 or 2 handfuls of chips in soup or chili bowls and top with a handful of cheese. Fill bowls with taco meat and top with more cheese, then mound up some salad on top and serve.