Southwest Chicken Salad with Jalapeno Popper Dressing

(not sure why the chicken looks so pink here, I promise it was fully cooked!)

With promising sunshine and delicious seasonal produce, salad season is upon us again! (I mean winter salads are great too but there is something about summer flavors!) This salad features my favorite southwest flavors with ingredients that I can easily reuse in other recipes. Plus, jalapeno popper dressing pulls all of the fabulous tastes and textures together into creamy, spicy bliss. 

This isn't a very healthy salad but you can easily lighten yours up by using grilled chicken and fat free ingredients in your dressing!  

What You'll Need:
for salad:
one serving chicken 
mixed greens
1/2 avocado, sliced
1/4 cup diced red onion 
sliced grape tomatoes 
charred corn on the cob
1/4 cup black beans, rinsed
crumbled tortilla chips 
for dressing:

• 1/2 cup cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup jalapenos
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 green onion
• 1 tablespoon cilantro
• salt and pepper to taste
• 
  

What To Do:
Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a blender and blend until completely smooth, adding one jalapeno at a time until desired flavor is achieved (I used 2 fresh jalapenos in mine but peppers vary in heat so be prepared to adjust accordingly!). Refrigerate until ready to use. 

Prepare chicken as desired. Layer greens, avocado, corn, black beans, onion, tomatoes, and tortilla chips. Top with chicken and dressing.  Enjoy! 

Chicken recipe from Ruthie Hart

Dressing Recipe from Closet Cooking 

Baked Eggs Rancheros

This recipe was my first introduction into baked eggs (besides breakfast pizza) and I did not expect the incredible concoction that steamed up from my oven. 

It was so, so good. Good as in my words are not going to do this justice. 

It was savory and spicy, rich from egg yolk and the hearty ranchero sauce, with crunch and cool from the toppings- just a well-rounded blend of everything good in life. 

My dish was slightly varied from the original recipe. I did not use cheese or tortilla strips... and I don't have a cast iron skillet so I had to transfer from a saucepan to a roasting pan. But I'm sure any variation on this would make a brilliant addition to the brunch rotation or even as breakfast for dinner. 

What You'll Need:

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
3 cups (1 28 oz. can) whole tomatoes, fire-roasted preferred
1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can whole kernel corn drained

12 large eggs
1¼ cups coarsely shredded pepper jack cheese
1 cup sour cream
2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
¼ cup minced fresh cilantro

2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
4 small (6-inch) corn tortillas, cut into ½-inch wide strips
Coarse salt, to taste

What To Do:

Preheat the oven to 450˚ F.  To make the ranchero sauce, combine the jalapeño, tomatoes, onion and garlic to a blender or food processor.  Process until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Pour the sauce into a 12-inch ovenproof skillet.  Stir in the black beans and corn.  Bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Lower the heat but maintain at a simmer and let cook about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, brush a baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of the oil.  Spread the tortilla strips in a single layer on the baking sheet and brush the tops with the remaining tablespoon of oil.  Sprinkle with coarse salt.  Bake about 6 minutes, tossing once or twice, until lightly browned and crisp.  Set aside. 

When the sauce has thickened slightly, remove the pan from the heat.  Carefully crack the eggs over the surface of the sauce placing them as evenly as possible.  Return the pan to the heat, cover, and let simmer gently in the sauce about 10-12 minutes, until the whites are partially but not completely opaque.

Heat the broiler.  Sprinkle the cheese over the top over the eggs, place underneath the broiler, and cook until the cheese is browned and bubbling and the eggs are cooked to your liking, just a few minutes.  In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and lime juice.  Remove the pan from the oven, top with dollops of the lime crema, sprinkle with crumbled tortilla strips and the cilantro.  Serve immediately.

recipe adapted from Annie's Eats