Taco night is a weekly occurrence at my house. I love the thought that my kids love taco night as it allows me to be creative in the kitchen, while at the same time, allows my kids to sample a different combination of ingredients. Now I will admit, I can probably call out their tacos (one beef and cheese, one cheese, one cheese and lettuce, and beef), but there are many times that my kids surprise me. This is what I love about taco night.
I do have a standard taco tray during the week which includes an array of fresh guacamole, tomatoes, cilantro, shredded lettuce, cheeses, diced onion, jalapenos, lime wedges, and hot sauce, but often times black beans, and rice. I often get excited when my kids grab for some lettuce, or lime wedge. It just shows me that they are experimenting with new flavors, and heck, if they get their veggies in without complaining, then I am all for it!
But this week they called taco night for a second time. The first night during the week, I was flattened by how much they consumed. Plates of nachos, and tacos on top of it, I was actually floored, and I got a bit nervous as I was running low on tortillas, beef, as well the veggies. But there was one thing I knew was not going to be touched, and that was the mushroom salad. I will not lie, my kids have not really gone into the flavors or textures of mushrooms, and I was not there at their age either.
I cannot tell you how great this simple salad is to make, and how wonderful the flavors are. This is a great stand alone salad, however, I was cramming these mushrooms into tortillas, and now realize that they are going to be really amazing in a quesadilla.
Ingredients:
- 8 oz white button mushrooms, stems trimmed, cleaned and cut in half
- 1 large shallot, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, diced
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, seeds removed, diced
- 4 tbsp canola oil
- pinch of salt
- Fresh cilantro for garnish
Begin by wiping your mushrooms clean of dirt with a damp cloth. Do all your dicing ahead of time as this is an all in one skillet. So with that said, heat your skillet on a medium to high heat and add in the oil. Toss in everything but the salt and cilantro, and cook, mixing well, for about 7 minutes, or until the shallot and mushrooms become nice and tender. Sprinkle a bit of salt, mix, and plate. Garnish with the fresh cilantro sprigs.
The flavors of this salad is pretty incredible. The garlic, shallot, and the smokiness of the chipotle peppers really do something wonderful to make this a great companion on taco night. Hope you enjoy.