Southwestern Chicken Salad

It's nearly officially summer and salads are the easiest thing to serve on a warm day IF...

you think ahead and have parts of the salad ready to go ahead of time.

Compile all your ingredients and then spend a bit of time chopping and you will have all you need for a large dinner salad or for crisp and healthy lunches through the week.

You can certainly adjust the ingredients to this salad since there is no one vegetable ingredient that makes or breaks this salad.   The Bean and Veggie salsa is can be eaten as an appetizer with tortilla chips.

Bean and Veggie Salsa

• 2 baskets of cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
• 1 minced onion, either red or sweet white
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 can drained and rinsed black beans
• 1 can drained and rinsed chick peas
• 1 can corn (or fresh cooked or grilled)
• 1 large jalapeño, finely minced
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• few dashes hot sauce  (optional and according to your heat preference)
• 1/2 cup minced cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

1. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl that has a lid.  Keep refrigerated.

Salad

• Chopped Bean and Veggie Salsa
• sliced grilled chicken breasts or 1 rotisserie chicken, cooled, skin removed, meat removed from bones and chopped
• Romaine Lettuce, washed and dried
• Crispy Salad Tortilla Strips (available in the produce section or by croutons)
• Cheddar or Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded (optional)
• Ranch dressing

1. Shred or chop enough Romaine for each dinner plate.
2. Top with a Chopped Salsa, and Chicken.
3. Add Cheese, Tortilla Strips and Ranch Dressing.