I don’t do New Year’s resolutions. I’ve yet to meet anyone who really sticks with them and I don’t want to set myself up for failure. So unlike some people I know, I’m not on a huge healthy eating, salads only kick at this time of the year. But for the past year and a half I have been trying to make more of a lifestyle change and eat healthier overall. Minnesota winters make this tough because when it’s really cold, what I crave is comfort food. You know pastas, casseroles, mashed potatoes smothered in gravy. So in order to talk myself into a cold salad it’s going to need to be really tasty. And this Southwest Salad is so tasty that I actually do start to crave this even in the cold winter months.
It’s fresh romaine, and then chock full of all kinds of yummy flavors like rich cherry tomatoes, red onion, corn, black beans, sliced jalapenos, grilled Meixcan spiced-chicken, some cotija cheese, crispy tortilla strips and the best part a creamy avocado based dressing. This salad is tasty, satisfying, has a nice bit of crunch, and a great balance to winter’s typical comfort foods.
Here’s what you need:
I like to start by prepping the tortilla strips, dressing, and chicken, then it’s just a matter of chopping and assembling the veggies.
For two of us, I used four small corn tortillas. Start by brushing them lightly with olive oil. Then stack them and slice into strips. Pile them on a foil lined baking sheet and sprinkle with kosher salt and Arizona Dreaming seasoning (if you don’t have this great Penzey’s spice – taco seasoning will work too or even some chili powder). Toss them around and spread onto a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 5-7 minutes until crispy.
For the dressing, I like to make it in one of my single serve blender cups. You can use a regular blender or a food processor too. It’s literally as simple as throwing everything into the blender, blending it until smooth, then tasting and adjusting if necessary. I find myself adding either more lime, salt, or buttermilk to thin.
You’re going to blend together half an avocado, three tablespoons of Greek yogurt, a clove of garlic (I like to grate this to make sure there are no big chunks), pinch of salt, about a ½ cup of buttermilk, some cilantro, a splash of Tabasco and the juice of one lime.
Now we grill the chicken. In the summer of course I’m grilling outside, but in the winter I just use a grill pan that has ridges on it to get the nice grill marks. Pan searing works well too.
Pound two chicken breasts to an even thickness. Sprinkle both sides with Arizona Dreaming and a little salt. Arizona Dreaming is a salt-free seasoning mix, which I like because them I’m free to add salt to my taste.
Grill the chicken over medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes until cooked. Allow to rest for 5 minutes and then slice into bite-sized pieces.
I forgot to take a picture of the cooked chicken, oops!
While the chicken is cooking slice the veggies.
Chop the romaine and put in the bottom of a large serving bowl.
The rest of the veggies you’ll need are:
- Red onion, chopped,
- Corn, sliced off the cob (in the winter frozen and thawed works well –you can even slice fresh corn off the cob and freeze it to use all winter long)
- Grape tomatoes, sliced in half
- Jalapeno, sliced into very thin slices
- Avocado, chopped (not pictured, because I forgot until I was partway through the salad – of course the time I make it for the blog, I forget a key ingredient)
I also added some black beans that I drained and rinsed and some cotija cheese. Feel free to change the veggies up to suit your own personal tastes.
Pile everything up in a serving bowl.
Now you can either toss it together and serve, or serve onto individual plates and let everyone add as much dressing as they want.
Enjoy!
- Tortilla Strips:
- 4 corn tortillas
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Arizona Dreaming (or taco seasoning and no salt)
- Avocado Dressing:
- ½ avocado
- 3 T Greek yogurt
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- ¼ t salt
- ½ c buttermilk
- 1 T cilantro
- ¼ t tabasco
- 1 lime, juice of
- Salad:
- 2 chicken breasts
- Arizona Dreaming seasoning from Penzey’s (or taco seasoning)
- salt
- 2 hearts of romaine, chopped
- 1 ear corn (or ¾ c frozen) cut off the cob
- ½ c black beans, drained & rinsed
- ½ c cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ avocado, chopped
- ½ c red onion, chopped
- 1 jalapeno, thinly sliced
- ¼ c cotija cheese
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
- Brush corn tortillas on both sides with olive oil. Slice into strips. Toss with a pinch of salt and a teaspoon or two of Arizona Dreaming. Spread onto cookie sheet in a single layer. Bake 350 degrees for 7-10 minutes until crispy.
- Place all dressing ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend/process until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Preheat grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Pound chicken to an even thickness. Sprinkle with salt and Arizona Dreaming seasoning. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until done. Let rest for 5 minutes and then slice into strips.
- Assemble salad. Start with a bed of romaine in a large bowl top with veggies and chicken. Serve with cheese, tortilla strips, and dressing.
SOUND good I am going to try it out my friend just gave me the Arizona Dream spice to try Your recipes is make my mouth water. THANKS