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 

Verde Ranch Dressing

(chopped spinach, cucumber, tomato, avocado, corn, and black beans with seasoned shrimp)

this stuff.
ohmygoodness.
I started inventing meals to go with this dressing. 
I made tacos just so I could drizzle this liquid of the gods all over it. 
I ate it with tortilla chips. 
I ate it on salad. 
You get the idea. 

The base of the recipe is a basic ranch dressing with tons of green goodness added- jalapeno, cilantro, tomatillo, green onion/scallion, lime, and parsley. So much flavor is packed into every drop.  Plus, since you're blending everything up, there's no need to chop anything- just toss it all in the blender and let it do the work. 

Plus it's really easy to make this a little healthier (I didn't because I already had the high-fat ingredients on hand ;) Sub in low-fat or fat-free mayo and replace the sour cream with nonfat Greek yogurt. 

The xanthan gum isn't completely necessary- it just keeps the dressing consistent and thickens it. It can be found in the gluten-free baking aisle at your grocery store. Also, just use a pinch- you don't need to overdo it!

(brown rice, seared fajita chicken, black beans, tomatoes, avocado, cilantro and queso fresco)

What You'll Need:
1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1 small jalapeno, deveined and seeds removed (leave the veins for a spicier dressing)
1/4 cup of fresh cilantro
1 tomatillo, husks removed, chopped
1 clove garlic
1 scallion
juice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/8 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp salt
a pinch of xanthan gum 

What To Do:Combine all ingredients in a blender. Taste and adjust as desired. Refrigerate in an airtight container up to one week. 

To ensure desired consistency, only add a small amount of buttermilk to start and then add a little at a time to thin out the dressing to your preference. 

Recipe adapted from Skinny Taste

Summer Tuna Salad

If you're looking for something light, simple, healthy and delicious, this is a great salad to throw together! I was improvising with what I had on hand, but was surprised at how much I loved this dish. The flavors work really well together- with sweet, savory, and creamy. It's also great because it fits into pescetarian, paleo and gluten free diets!

I'll admit that I didn't use exact measurements, so be sure to adjust to your specific taste preferences!

What You'll Need:

(1 large portion or 2 small portions)

1 can white albacore chunk tuna 

1/2 small mango, diced

1/4 cup diced onion

1/2 avocado, diced

1/4 cup corn (I used canned but fresh or frozen would work as well!)

sea salt

fresh cracked black pepper

salad greens (I used baby spinach, but romaine or mixed greens would make great subsitutions)

*optional* chipotle dressing 

What To Do:

Combine all of the ingredients together and serve over greens. Drizzle with chipotle dressing if desired.

   

Homemade Ranch Dressing

Y'all, ranch dressing makes everything better. 

I was eating it on steak well into high school (and that's just a shame!).

But as I try to fill my diet with more fresh fruits and veggies, 

this is something that will definitely help! 

And I can feel better about it because it's homemade 

and not a bottled store bought version with lots of preservatives. 

(I still love you Hidden Valley...)

Plus I had buttermilk, sour cream and mayo leftover from other recipes 

so this one helped me clean out those containers to reuse!

I took the recipe from Annie's Eats and modified it 

to what I had in my kitchen

So, instead of chives, I used cilantro

Instead of lemon juice, I squeezed a lime

and it still tastes pretty dang good!

I ate it on this lovely salad with dinner

and on pita chips for a snack. Yum!

What You Need:

¾ cup mayonnaise
¾ cup sour cream
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. lemon juice
¼-1 cup buttermilk
1 small bunch chives
Small handful parsley
1 clove garlic, chopped
½ tsp. kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

What To Do:
Combine all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor starting with ¼ cup of the buttermilk and blend for 10 seconds.  Check the consistency and taste and blend in additional buttermilk as desired.  Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

What helps you eat more vegetables?

Harvest Apple Salad

Whenever I made the Scalloped Hassleback Potatoes, 

I served this Harvest Apple Salad along with it.

It made me feel a little bit better about all the 

butter and cream and cheese in the main course.

Along with pumpkins, apples are a fantastic 

in-season fruit to take advantage of this fall. 

This salad is a breeze to throw together and can be 

easily customized to include your favorite ingredients.

The apples really make the salad though!

Here's what I used:

baby spinach greens

crumbled feta cheese

toasted almonds

sliced Jonagold apples

I topped the salad with this sweet vinaigrette. I didn't have any sesame seeds on hand so I left them out and it was still very tasty. I believe next time I may reduce the amount of olive oil I mix in though.

Whisk these ingredients together:

¼ cup finely minced sweet onion

3 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

3 tbsp. white wine or champagne vinegar

2 tbsp. sesame seeds

Pinch of paprika

2 tbsp. sugar

Then, slowly whisk 1/2 cup olive oil in until it's all well combined.

This makes a great side salad, but with some grilled chicken this could make a quick and healthy dinner option!

Adapted from Annie's Eats.