Southwestern Cobb Salad with Chili Lime Dressing

I like my salad from the bottom of the bowl--that's where all the good stuff is! That could be one reason I love a good Cobb Salad. The lettuce is not the star of the show. This Southwestern Cobb salad had rows of tomato, red pepper, purple onion, grilled chicken, bacon, black beans and avocado. A few crispy tortilla strips and a yummy Chili Lime Dressing turned this salad into a 5 star meal. This salad was inspired by a recipe in a Taste of Home Southwestern Cooking Magazine.

Southwestern Cobb Salad
2 heads of romaine, (tough ribs removed) sliced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 chopped tomato
1 diced red pepper
1 1/2 cups diced grilled chicken
1 avocado, diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
5 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
Arrange ingredients on a large platter, in rows, I like the diagonal look. Top with crisp tortilla strips. Serve with
Chili-Lime Dressing
1  small can whole green chiles, drained and chopped
2/3 cup sour cream, low fat
2/3 cup mayo
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, our new favorite is Cholula--they sell larger bottles at Costco!
Mix ingredients in a food processor or an immersion blender until blended. Cover and chill.

About Cobb Salads. They look like a lot of work--and they are! But this salad was made over a few days. I made the dressing and let it chill for a couple of days. The chicken was left over from yesterdays dinner. I cooked a large pan of bacon in the oven for BLTs earlier this week. Most veggies can be chopped early in the day or the night before. When it is time to eat dice the tomato and avocado and  assemble the prepared ingredients.
If you want to really speed preparations use--
--a rotisserie chicken or precooked chicken tenders
--precooked bacon or bacon bits
--packaged romaine
--bottled salad dressing, Litehouse has some fun flavors
--some produce departments have diced onion, celery, peppers etc.
--these options save time but often cost more money (funny how that works)
Another yummy Cobb salad includes shrimp, celery, cucumber, lettuce, tomatoes, shredded cheese, boiled eggs and Thousand Island Dressing.
How about a Greek inspired Cobb salad with feta cheese, artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, red onion, romaine, English cucumber, grilled chicken. So many possibilities.
Make a Cobb salad today--your way!

This post is linked to TidyMom
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