I love discovering new salads. The flavors in this salad really come together nicely-the slight heat from the chicken, the tangy dressing and creamyness of the avocado make for delicious bite after delicious bite.
When the chicken is cooking is a great time to prep the veggies and cheese and make the dressing and then it’s just a matter of chopping the chicken and putting it all together on a plate.
You can serve this as a lunch, a light dinner or a side salad. The original recipe included fried tortilla strips but I omitted them and replaced with the crispy noodles.
Southwest Chicken Salad
Ingredients:
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 6 ozs boneless skinless chicken breast halves
- kernels from one ear of corn cooked (or 1/2 cup frozen or canned kernels)
- 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes
- 1 avocado sliced
- 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
- 2 tbsp freshly graded Colby Jack cheese
- 1/2 cup crispy lo mein noodles
Instructions:
- Pre-heat oven to 425. In a small bowl combine the first 4 ingredients above and mix to form a paste. Place the chicken in a small baking dish and coat the chicken with the spice paste. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until chicken is cooked completely.
- While the chicken is cooking prep the veggies and cheese and set aside. Then make the dressing (recipe below) and set aside.
- When chicken is cooked remove it from the oven and set aside for a few minutes until it’s cool enough to touch. Then cut it into small cubes.
- Toss the lettuce, tomato, and corn with most of the vinaigrette (set a little aside to drizzle over the chicken). Put the veggies on a plate, top with the avocado, crispy noodles, cheese and chicken. Drizzle with remaining vinaigrette and serve.
Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice (1 lime)
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 clove garlic, smashed
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/8 red onion, sliced
- 3 tbsp olive oil
Instructions:
- Place all ingredients into a small food processor and pulse until it becomes a fine paste. Add the olive oil and turn on until emulsified.
Slightly adapted from www.sotastysoyummy.blogspot.com for this month’s swap of lunch foods graciously hosted by Sarah from http://tasteofhomecooking.blogspot.com/. See the rest of the recipes in the swap here:
Oct 18, 2013 @ 11:55:02
The crispy noodle variation sounds great. Thanks for the french dip recipe! yum!
Oct 18, 2013 @ 12:16:52
I am glad you enjoyed it, it is a favorite of mine.
Oct 18, 2013 @ 13:14:29
This looks great! I love a good dinner (or lunch) salad.