By Sofia started community college orientation this week. She came home with a campus map, a student ID, and a look on her face that I have seen before — on my own face, thirty-four years ago, when I walked into the University of Puerto Rico and thought: this is the beginning of something I cannot see the end of. She is seventeen. She is terrified and excited and trying to act like she is neither, the way seventeen-year-olds do, and I am letting her because sometimes the best thing a mother can do is pretend she does not see the fear so the child can pretend the fear is not there.
At the hospital, the back-to-school rush is starting. More patients, more trays, more chaos. I love September chaos. I thrive in September chaos. September chaos is my natural habitat, the way calm waters are the habitat of some other woman who is not me. Give me a kitchen full of orders, a dining room full of hungry people, and a staff that needs direction, and I am in my element. I am a fish in water. I am a sofrito in oil. I am exactly where I am supposed to be.
Wedding planning continues. Jenny mother — Karen, her name is Karen, and she is exactly what you imagine when you imagine a Karen from Glastonbury, Connecticut, except she is also kind and trying very hard and I have to give her credit for trying — Karen sent me a menu proposal for the reception. Chicken marsala, roasted vegetables, garlic bread. I looked at this menu. I put on my glasses and read it again. Then I called Miguel Jr. and said, Miguelito, I love Jenny. I love Jenny mother. But if you think I am going to sit at my firstborn wedding eating chicken marsala while there is pernil in the world, you have lost your mind. He said, Mami, Jenny mother is handling the catering. I said, Jenny mother is handling the American food. I am handling the Puerto Rican food. We are doing both. He sighed. He said, I will talk to Jenny. I said, You do that. And tell Karen I will bring the arroz con gandules myself.
Made bistec encebollado tonight — steak smothered in onions. Quick, satisfying, the kind of meal that says I am too busy for elaborate but not too busy for delicious. Eduardo ate it in front of the news. Sofia ate it while studying biology. I ate it standing at the counter, scrolling through the wedding menu on my phone, mentally adding Puerto Rican dishes to Karen chicken marsala. We will have two menus at this wedding. Two cultures. Two mothers. One table. It will be beautiful. It will be loud. It will be exactly right.
Between Sofia’s orientation papers spread across the kitchen table and Karen’s chicken marsala menu glowing on my phone screen, I needed something fast that still felt like a real meal—something with flavor, with substance, something that says I see you, busy life, and I am not backing down. This chopped taco salad is that meal. Seasoned beef, crisp lettuce, all the toppings, and a homemade Catalina dressing that takes three minutes and tastes like you tried much harder than you did. It is the weeknight equivalent of handling two wedding menus at once: a little bit of everything, all on one plate, and it works.
Chopped Taco Salad with Homemade Catalina Dressing
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes | Servings: 6
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 1 pound ground beef (90/10 lean)
- 1 packet (1 ounce) taco seasoning
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 large head romaine lettuce, chopped
- 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup sweet corn kernels (fresh, frozen, or canned and drained)
- 1/2 cup red onion, finely diced
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup pickled jalapeño slices
- 1 avocado, diced
- 1 cup tortilla strips or crushed tortilla chips
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
For the Homemade Catalina Dressing:
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Make the dressing. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the ketchup, white vinegar, sugar, vegetable oil, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and salt until smooth. Set aside in the refrigerator while you prepare everything else.
- Cook the beef. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, until browned and cooked through, about 7–8 minutes. Drain any excess fat. Add the taco seasoning and water, stir to combine, and simmer for 2 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Prep the vegetables. While the beef cooks, chop the romaine, halve the tomatoes, dice the red onion and avocado, and drain and rinse the black beans.
- Assemble the salad. Spread the chopped romaine across a large serving platter or bowl. Arrange the black beans, tomatoes, corn, red onion, and seasoned beef in rows or sections over the lettuce. Top with shredded cheddar, jalapeño slices, diced avocado, and tortilla strips.
- Dress and serve. Drizzle the Catalina dressing generously over the salad or serve it on the side. Garnish with fresh cilantro. Toss at the table just before serving for the best texture.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 485 | Protein: 24g | Fat: 26g | Carbs: 40g | Fiber: 7g | Sodium: 820mg