The Six Hour Salad of Deliciousness

My mother in law had a Mexican Salad that she always made when visiting our home. Our kids loved loved loved it. So in honor of a special son's special birthday yesterday I wanted to make the Super Mexican Salad. As bad luck would have it, I went in and bought ingredients the day after produce prices shot through the roof. Never in my life have I bought a head of iceberg lettuce for $2.69. But I bought three of them this time because this son has been through some rough patches and I wanted to make this birthday dinner memorable.

This salad takes about six hours of preparation, most of which is in preparing the produce. Washing, cutting, chopping, peeling, yadayadayada. Are you just dying to know what's in it?

Grandma Gowen's Mexican Salad

1-2 lb. ground beef prepared with taco seasoning. Let cool while you mix up the vegetables, etc.

Iceberg lettuce, broken into pieces
purple cabbage, sliced fine
grape or cherry tomatoes
red onion slices,
black and green olives, whole
artichoke hearts
fresh sliced mushrooms
grated carrots
avocados, cut into rough pieces
red kidney beans
black beans
grated cheddar cheese
other options: baby corn or kerneled corn, sprouts, jicama, or anything else you think will go with it

Toss all these ingredients together. Right before serving add 1-2 bags Spicy Nacho Dorito chips, smashed in the bag into bite size pieces. Toss and pour in a bottle of Wishbone Italian dressing, amount to taste. I made a huge amount of salad for 12 adults, with 2 lbs. ground beef, 3 heads lettuce, 6 cans beans (you get the picture), 2 bags chips. I only used one bottle of dressing and wished I had used two.

Although everyone said it was delicious and snarfed it down fast. And the birthday boy had a smile on his face.