Recipe: Southwest Chicken Salad

Alright everyone, this is our go-to dinner salad.  It has enough in it to serve as a whole meal and it is delicious.  I'm going to share a few things in this on how I save a bit of money on our grocery bill.  Here's the recipe:

yumm!!

Here's the instructions

 Dice up one chicken breast

sprinkle with salt, pepper, cumin, dried onion, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper 

Heat olive oil in a pan until shimmering, add the chicken and allow to cook for for two and a half minutes, and turn, cooking another two and a half minutes.  You want it to be quite golden brown on the outside.  Once fully cooked, remove to a plate and allow to cool slightly.

Money Saving Tip #1:  My favorite lettuce is romaine. I like it because it has good flavor, has nice crunch and it's usually decently priced.  I never buy pre-bagged lettuce or salads, they don't last as long and they are so overpriced.  Instead I buy whole heads of romaine, chop it up, and wash it using my salad spinner.  If you don' have a salad spinner, go get one, they are the best thing ever!  I cut up enough lettuce for us to use in two or three days, which for us is about 2 heads of lettuce (if just eating salad with dinner.  After I wash it and dry it, I put it in a gallon size zip-top bag with a dry paper towel and keep it in the fridge.  

Put the ranch dressing in to a bowl, add the salsa and hot sauce, if using.

Put the lettuce in to a large bowl

Add the black beans, corn and cheese

Money Saving Tip #2: I buy frozen corn instead of canned, saves space and money...frozen corn is much cheaper and doesn't have all the added sugar from the liquid.  

Money Saving Tip #3: I cook dry beans instead of using canned beans, this saves me a ton.  I cook up a big batch every couple of weeks (actually about once a month, or so) and package it in to zip top freezer bags at 14 oz, which is equivalent to a can of beans (there's usually about 2 oz of juice in the can), and I put it in the freezer.  It only takes a few minutes to defrost in the microwave or under hot water.  This again saves me a lot of money because we eat a lot of beans, but like the corn, there's so much added sugar to the cans of beans that it keeps it healthier too.  I don't do this with all beans, just black because we eat the most of those.  If I'm going to be using another type of bean in a recipe, I will just buy a can of them...I wouldn't go through a batch of beans fast enough to make it worthwhile to cook up a whole batch.  I am almost out of beans right now, so I will write up a recipe for them once I cook some up!!

Pour half the dressing mixture on top and toss, add more dressing if desired.  

Place on a plate and top with the chicken.

I served the salad with my delicious corn bread and honey butter...amazing!  Make this soon, it's delicious!!

Southwest Chicken Salad

serves 2

1 chicken breast, diced

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp dried onion

pinch of cayenne pepper

4 cups romaine lettuce, chopped, washed and dried

1/2 cup black beans, rinsed

1/2 cup frozen corn, defrosted

1/2 cup shredded cheese

 1/2 cup ranch dressing

1 Tbsp salsa

hot sauce, if desired 

1.   Dice up one chicken breast, sprinkle with salt, pepper, cumin, dried onion, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper.   Heat olive oil in a pan until shimmering, add the chicken and allow to cook for for two and a half minutes, and turn, cooking another two and a half minutes.  You want it to be quite golden brown on the outside.  Once fully cooked, remove to a plate and allow to cool slightly.

2.  Put the ranch dressing in to a bowl, add the salsa and hot sauce, if using.  Put the lettuce in to a large bowl and add the black beans, corn and cheese.  Pour half the dressing mixture on top and toss, add more dressing if desired.   Place on a plate and top with the chicken.