Aunt Agnes’ Mexican Salad – Guest Kitchens
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Today’s post is from Lora Roberts, a Southern Plate Family member that I had the privilege of meeting while I was on my book tour. I actually had the privilege of getting to eat with her, too! I was headed to a signing at a bookstore located in a mall and got there early hoping to grab some supper in the food court. As I stood in line to place my order Lora came up and said hi to me! She had also arrived early for the signing hoping to eat. I asked if she would mind if I sat with them and we spent the next half hour chatting away!
Thank you for your hospitality, Lora, and thank you for sharing this recipe and heartwarming story with us today. I am so intrigued by it that I’m heading out to the grocery store to get the makin’s today! If anyone reading this has ever made it, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. I know you’ll also want to chat with Lora in the comments as well so feel free!
Gratefully,
Christy
Christy,
I had to stop and think of which recipe I wanted to share the most and which had a story really worth telling. My grandmother passed away when I was 17 and my mother when I was 19. Most of my recipes I have acquired over the years have been from other family members. I guess the one with the most meaning is the one I will share!
Aunt Agnes has always brought this recipe to the family reunion and it is always one of the first things gone. Now you have to remember my dad’s family is good old East Tennessee folks, raised on cornbread, beans and other traditional Southern cooking. But everyone loves this! When Aunt Agnes lived too far away to make the reunion (uncle was a preacher and they lived many places over the years), my stepmom would bring it in her place. I fixed it for my boyfriend a couple of summers ago and he loved it. Just a good fresh and cool salad for summertime and something he enjoyed taking in his lunch, light but filling.
Last year after the family reunion, we stopped by Aunt Agnes’ house to visit as she had not been feeling well and she didn’t attend the reunion. While visiting I told her I had fixed Rick the Mexican Salad and how much he loved it so I asked….how did you get this recipe? What she told me made the recipe mean that much more to me.
In the early 80’s after losing my grandmother, mother, favorite uncle and a couple other relatives, I lost my cousin Linda (Aunt Agnes’ only girl). When I was a small girl they called me “Little Linda” as I was so much like her and tended to talk through my nose like her! Linda first got sick with a tumor on her spine. Eventually other cancers took her from us. Aunt Agnes and Uncle Charles lived in Texas at the time and Aunt Agnes came back to Atlanta to stay with Linda. When Linda was really bad and in the hospital for a long time, one of the nurses came in one day with a bowl of the Mexican Salad for Aunt Agnes and the other family members to eat since she felt they had to be tired of the hospital cafeteria by then. Everyone loved it and Aunt Agnes asked her for the recipe. So through the loss of a much beloved family member, we received a much beloved family recipe. One I will continue to fix and share in honor of Linda and Aunt Agnes.
~Lora Roberts
Servings: 4
Calories: 141kcal
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 c. shredded cheese
- 1 can pinto beans
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1 bottle Catalina dressing
- 1 or 2 tomatoes chopped
- 1 head of lettuce chopped (or 1 bag salad mix)
- 1 bag Doritos Nacho cheese flavor, crumbled
Instructions
- Brown ground beef, stirring constantly. Drain and cool. Mix ground beef with cheese, pintos, onion and dressing. Refrigerate. Before serving, add tomatoes, lettuce and Doritos.
Nutrition
Calories: 141kcal
Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!
Servings: 4
Calories: 141kcal
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 c. shredded cheese
- 1 can pinto beans
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1 bottle Catalina dressing
- 1 or 2 tomatoes chopped
- 1 head of lettuce chopped (or 1 bag salad mix)
- 1 bag Doritos Nacho cheese flavor, crumbled
Instructions
- Brown ground beef, stirring constantly. Drain and cool. Mix ground beef with cheese, pintos, onion and dressing. Refrigerate. Before serving, add tomatoes, lettuce and Doritos.
Nutrition
Calories: 141kcal
Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!
“Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem.
We all have twenty-four hour days.”
— Zig Ziglar
do you drain the pinto beans ? i’m getting ready to copy it , it sounds good .
We’ve made this salad (called Taco Salad, in our family), since I was little. I started using Spicy Ranch, when I found an almost empty bottle of Catalina in the fridge, and decided I like it better with the ranch.
I’ve always made this same salad but with Green Goddess dressing instead of the Catalina. It’s sooo very good!!
Would love to see a photo of this!
Me too! First one to make it, upload to my facebook page! 😀
http://www.facebook.com/southernplatefamily
This is my summertime favorite. My family could eat this almost every night of summer.
I add bell pepper, taco seasoning, and black olives and use dark red kidney beans instead of pintos. We like plain corn chips served on the side with a little sour cream added to each serving.
I have also made it with ground turkey instead of beef.
Even though the Catalina dressing sounds odd, it’s what “makes” the recipe. Delicious!!!
And the next day the leftovers are yummy.
By the way, don’t try this recipe unless you have a REALLY BIG BOWL.
This is an interesting salad. Never heard of putting chips in a salad. That would make my son eat it, that is for sure. Looks really good. Thanks for sharing.
Where I am from this is a taco salad, or kind of. I haven’t eaten Catalina Dressing since the 70’s.
This has been a family favorite in our family since the mid 70’s. I was a teenager and had it with friends for Sunday dinner after church Growing up in a large family, I loved to help my mom cook and was excited to introduce this to my brothers and sisters. This was a favorite that everybody loved. Now that I’m married, my family LOVES this recipe. I’ve taken it to potlucks and it’s always a hit. The ladies in our church love it for ladies luncheon or for baby showers.
Another variation we have had in our family – Mix the seasoned cooked ground beef, tomatoes and beans in the bottom of the bowl. Instead of Catalina (some of our family doesn’t like it), pour in some Good Seasons Italian dressing. I discovered it was good when I ran out of Catalina and didn’t want to go to the store. Sometimes you just have to make due with what you have on hand. Toss the meat mixture with the chips and lettuce when ready to serve. It’s a really good variation. Never have any leftovers.
I’ve added other things too that make the salad really fun – black olives, red onion, diced green onion, rinsed black beans instead of ranch, small diced green or red pepper, diced avocado or mexicorn. Sometimes, we don’t put the beans in at all. Again, we use what we have on hand. All the additional ingredients really make this dish look like you are having a party. And a dollop of sour cream on the top isn’t bad either.
I think I will have to make this for dinner tonight. Will have one happy family at our ranch house. Was wondering what would be good to cook. This is such a good summer meal with lemonade or limeade.