Chopped salads are a regular on our weekly menu because they are not only quick and versatile, but also a great way to pack a ton of fresh veggies into your dinner.
This salad came about last Friday afternoon – I had marinated chicken to make my grilled fajitas, when my lovely neighbors invited me out for a TGIF cocktail. In my mind I was going to be able to run out to the store to buy the rest of the toppings and tortillas needed for a fajita night – as you may have guessed, I ended up chit chatting with the neighbors for far too long while our kids licked Popsicles and rode their bikes up and down the street. Six o’clock rolled around and a trip to the store was so not happening. So as the chicken was grilling, I came up with a chopped salad solution to our dinner dilemma.
Necessities:
Salad
8 cups chopped romaine
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper (whatever color you’d like)
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup frozen & thawed corn
1 avocado chopped
1/2 cup tortilla strips (you can find these
near the salad dressings and croutons at your local grocery store, but if you’re in a pinch, you can just crush up some tortilla chips)
Dressing
1/4 cup ranch dressing
1/4 cup jarred salsa
1/4 cup sour cream (I used light because that’s what I had on hand)
Toppings
Chopped chicken
Shredded Cheddar or Monterrey jack cheese
Tortilla strips
Method:
If you are going to grill your chicken using my grilled fajita recipe, you will want to grill it first and give it a chance to rest while you prepare the salad. Not up for grilling? Not a problem – you could also use leftover chicken from a previous night’s meal or even chop up a store bought rotisserie chicken to top your salad. And if you are a vegetarian then skip the chicken all together 😉 Here is my chicken all cooked up and taking a rest on a plate….now onto the salad!
Next, wash and chop all of your lettuce and vegetables. I prefer to buy romaine hearts and chop them myself, but you can absolutely buy bagged romaine and make this an even quicker meal to throw together. In a large bowl add in the lettuce and all of the toppings – it will be like a beautiful salad rainbow 🙂
Now is the time to make the dressing. In a small bowl add in the ranch, salsa and sour cream and whisk until combined, it will be a pale peach color.
Now pour the dressing over the salad rainbow….
Use a pair of tongs and mix, mix, mix it up! Looks good, right?!
You’re almost ready to eat. Just plate up the salad, top with shredded cheese, more tortilla strips and the chopped chicken. Your delicious and wholesome dinner is ready in less than 30 minutes – now dig in 😉
