Turkey & Black Bean Tacos with Pineapple Mango Salsa

Last week on the Taste of Home blog, they posted a link to their recipe for Pineapple Mango Salsa. Even before I made it, my tongue started to tingle. That’s always a good sign (in cooking and in romance!) Pineapple Mango Salsa... The flavor of the tropics without the humidity!

I decided to make it with turkey and black bean tacos. And with regular salsa because my husband said the Pineapple Mango Salsa sounded fruity.

Uh… yes. It’s made out of fruit.

Turkey and Black Bean Tacos

1 T olive oil
1 pound ground turkey
1 can black beans, undrained
1 can of diced green chilis
1 envelope of taco seasoning
½ C water

Brown the turkey in oil over medium heat. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes or so. Serve on flour tortillas with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and cheese. I also like to add ranch dressing to give it a different kick.

Pineapple Mango Salsa

You can click the link above to get the recipe. In the meantime, I did want to share a tip on how to chop mangos. First you have to cut the mango in half. I don’t have any tips on that part. It’s a bugger! If you have a tip, please share it with me in the comments.

But once the mango is cut in half, leave it in the peel and slice vertical and horizontal cuts into the flesh. Then invert the peel and cut your delicious little mango chunks off the peel.

The colors in this salsa are incredible! A bowl full of summer.

When making the tomato salsa, I decided to break out my new toy, a Ninja. I had bought the Ninja to replace my blender because I read reviews online that it was the best at crushing ice. (For those all important margaritas.) The blender came with this little food chopper.

The blender/food processor design has been rethought, so the motor is in this little handheld part that you place on top of the food container. The Ninja people say that pulsing works best, so I pulsed away. As you can see from the pictures below, it pulverized the food except for one big chunk.

To add texture, I chopped one tomato by hand and added it to the mix. Much better! Of course, in the end, my husband said he liked both the Pineapple Mango Salsa and the Tomato Salsa equally.

Pulverized by pulsing

Pulverized, plus one chopped tomato

Tomato Salsa

2 large tomatoes
1 jalapeno, with seeds if you like it spicy, without seeds if you like it mild
2-3 green onions with tops
1t ground cumin
¼ C fresh cilantro
Salt to taste

Chop everything as fine as you like it or put it all in a food processor if you like slushy salsa. There are endless variations. You can use canned tomatoes instead of fresh or a mixture of both. You can chop the tomatoes and then warm them in the microwave for 30 seconds to bring out their sweetness. Or even sprinkle them with a little bit of sugar. Use as much or as little of each ingredient as you like.

The next day, we used the leftover Turkey and Black Bean Taco meat to make nachos. Delicioso!