Southwestern Chopped Salad

I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. I don't really like salad. There are rare exceptions, however, so you know if I tell you about one, it's good. It'll be worth trying. This is definitely one of them. This is one of the few meals that I have super strong cravings for. When I make it for dinner, I have a second bowl of salad for dessert. I'm not even joking.

This is a close adaptation from The Garden Grazer. I wanted to replace the starches she used with even more colorful, nutritious vegetables. Speaking of, I hope you all know how important it is to "eat the rainbow", in order to help you obtain a wide variety of nutrients. This salad is a delicious way to add a rainbow of colors to your diet. On top of that, the colorful veggies are coated with a thin layer of creamy, tangy dressing that is chock-full of healthy fats, which also help you absorb certain said nutrients more readily. Gosh, no wonder I crave this salad so much.

To start off, prepare your ingredients for the dressing. Did you know that you can use the stems of cilantro along with the leaves? It's true, America's Test Kitchen taste-tested it for The Science of Good Cooking. So go ahead and just roughly chop your bunch of cilantro, no need to perform the time-consuming step of removing the leaves. Score!

Once the remaining dressing ingredients are prepared, puree in a food processor or blender until smooth. The dressing will be thick and the cilantro will be visible as tiny little specks. Stick your dressing in the fridge while you're chopping the salad veggies.

Put your salad veggies in a large bowl, then add the chilled dressing. Mix everything together thoroughly. The cilantro bits in the dressing will give your salad veggies cute little green freckles :)

Divide salad into serving bowls and top with shredded chicken. Devour, then devour some more for dessert. If you have any leftovers, the dressed salad will keep up to two days in the fridge -- perfect for lunches the next day.

**Note: The original linked recipe is vegetarian/vegan friendly, if that's your jam.

Southwestern Chopped Salad

Dressing
1 medium avocado, pit removed and sliced
1 cup roughly chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 garlic cloves, skin removed
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon salt 
Black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in food processor or blender. Process until smooth. Adjust seasonings as needed. Refrigerate until ready to add to salad.

Salad
1 head romaine lettuce, rinsed, chopped and patted/spun/drained dry
2 bell peppers, seeds removed, rinsed, chopped, and dried
1 pint cherry tomatoes, rinsed and chopped
5 green onions, rinsed, sliced, and dried
1/4 red onion, chopped
Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken (optional)

Combine salad vegetables in large bowl. Add all of the dressing and mix until everything is thoroughly combined. Add salad to serving dishes, top with chicken if using. Store leftovers in refrigerator for up to 2 days.

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Make it work for you

This one can easily work for everyone on a work night/day or a day off. Once you have everything chopped and pureed, it's literally throwing it in a bowl and stirring. The leftovers hold up for two days, making it great to use for lunches. You can also prepare this while your Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken is cooking to serve with it. Or, omit the chicken and use as a side dish.