sliced olives

The original recipe for this southwestern turkey salad came from a cookbook called Today’s Turkey Favorites which we sent away for in 1990. This book was only thirty-five pages long, but it contained a number of good recipes. “Today” is always a relative term because the original recipe is now nearly thirty years old. However, with a few little additions, this recipe is better than ever!

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Southwestern Turkey Salad

This is a colorful way to create a turkey salad without using lettuce or tomato. It's very tasty and can be modified to be "hotter" very easily by modifying the spices or using a different salsa.

Course

Main Dish

Cuisine

Mexican

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

5 minutes

Servings

people

Ingredients

• 2 zucchini
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 tbsp. chili powder
• 1 tbsp. lime juice
• 2 tbsp. taco seasoning
• 1 jar mild salsa We prefer mild salsa, but you could also use hotter salsas
• 2 avocados
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 4 oz. can sliced olives
• 2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
• tortilla chips

Course Main Dish Cuisine Mexican Prep Time 20 minutes Cook Time 5 minutes Servings people Ingredients 2 zucchini 1 tbsp. olive oil 1 pound ground turkey 1 tbsp. chili powder 1 tbsp. lime juice 2 tbsp. taco seasoning 1 jar mild salsa We prefer mild salsa, but you could also use hotter salsas 2 avocados 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese 1 4 oz. can sliced olives 2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro or parsley tortilla chips

Instructions

1. Slice the zucchini 1/8" inch thick, shred the cheddar cheese, and chop the cilantro.
2. Bring a pot containing 4 qt. water to a boil. This will be used to blanch the zucchini. If the water comes to a full boil before you're ready to blanch the zucchini, just turn the heat off and leave a lid on the pot.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. When the skillet is hot, add the olive oil. When the oil is shimmering, add the turkey and cook until turkey is barely pink. Add the chili powder, lime juice, taco seasoning and stir together well and cook until turkey is no longer pink.
4. Add the salsa and simmer the turkey mixture for 5 minutes. While the turkey mixture is simmering, it's a good time to slice the avocado.
5. When the turkey has about a minute to go, blanch the zucchini by putting the slices in boiling water for about a minute. Drain the zucchini and place zucchini slices in a circle on a plate.
6. Spoon the turkey mixture on top of the zucchini, top with avocado slices and cheddar cheese. Serve with tortilla chips.

Recipe Notes

I like to get my prep work done in advance. This sometimes means I wind up with more dishes to do, but it relieves so much stress while you're in the "assembly phase". When we make this, we make individual plates, but you could make one large plate if you prefer.

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