Southwestern Chopped Salad with Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

By charlotteh371

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large chicken breast (about 1 lb), sliced in half horizontally
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons chili powder (mild, not overly spicy kind)
• salt, to taste
• 1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1 large orange bell pepper, chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 avocado, chopped
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup corn from the can, rinsed and drained
• Hidden Valley® Buttermilk Ranch dressing

Preparation

Step 1

Cooking chicken:
1.Generously season the chicken breasts with salt, on both sides. Also, season both sides of chicken breast with 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin and 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder (reserve the remaining 1.5 teaspoon of each cumin and chili powder for later).
2.Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat until hot, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil – it should sizzle immediately. Add the chicken breast, and cook for about 2 minutes on each side, on medium-high heat. Remove the skillet from the heat, cover with lid, and let the chicken sit, off heat (it will continue cooking off heat) until the chicken is completely cooked through and no longer pink in the center, about 10-15 minutes. Slice the cooked chicken into stripes or cubes. Set aside.

Assembling the salad:
3.Make sure lettuce, bell pepper, tomatoes, avocado, and green onions are all finely chopped. Rinse and drain canned black beans and canned corn. Add all salad ingredients, 1.5 teaspoon of ground cumin, and 1.5 teaspoon of chili powder to a large bowl and toss with the desired amount of Buttermilk Ranch dressing. Taste the salad, and definitely add some salt, to taste. Adding just the right amount of salt at this point will really bring out all the flavors! Top each salad serving with cooked chicken (cubed or sliced into stripes).