Tasty Taco Salad

This is a recipe we got from a Men's Health book called The Abs Diet. The book has a lot of healthy but delicious meals.  This was the first one we tried and it was very tasty.  It was great as a dinner, and the left overs were also good for lunch.  I really like taco salad (again my love for Mexican food shows through), but this has such a tasty light dressing that it makes it even more healthy.

Tasty Taco Salad
aka - A Thinner Mexican Dinner
From: Men's Health - The Abs Diet

Ingredients:
For Meat:
3/4 lb lean ground beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can Black beans - drained and rinsed
1 Tbsp Chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/3 cup water

For the dressing:
4 medium tomatoes, diced
2 Tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Lime Juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

For the Salad:
Romain Lettuce, chopped
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 ounces baked corn tortilla chips (optional)
Avocado (optional)

Directions:
1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown beef.  Add the garlic and beans and cook for 2 minutes more.  Add the chili powder, cayenne, and water and stir until well-combined and most of the water has been absorbed.  Remove from heat.

2. Mix dressing ingredients in a bowl.

3. Divide the lettuce among dinner plates, top with the beef mixture and sprinkle with cheese.  Spoon the dressing over each salad and crush tortilla chips on top (we left out the chips but added slices of avocado due to our love of avocados and that we happened to have a bunch).