Mexican Salad with Grilled Chicken and Honey Lime Dressing

Normally when you think Mexican food, you think giant, heavy burritos dripping in fat, or greasy chips dunked in cheese.

Case in point: a burrito I ate in San Diego. It has its own flag because it was the size of a small country.




However, amigos, it does not have to be this way. Many traditional Mexican ingredients, like beans and avocado, are super healthy for you. With some ingredients I already had in my fridge and pantry, I was able to throw together a delicious and nutritious Mexican salad. It is full of wonderful flavor, color, and texture. Ole!


Ingredients:

• 1/2 bag romaine lettuce

• 1 avocado. Avocado is so damn creamy and delicious. It's like nature's butter.

• 1/2 can diced tomatoes, drained. You can also use fresh tomato, obviously.

• 1/2 can black beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed. I think it tastes better than canned corn.

• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese. Yeah, I know, it's Greek. If you have Mexican cotija cheese, or really any kind you like, feel free to substitute. Or don't even use cheese. See if I care!

• 1 handful baked tortilla chips. This is a great use for those broken chips at the bottom of the bag!

• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast

• 1/2 cup Tequila Lime Marinade. I use the stuff from Kroger, but any Mexican style marinade will do.

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup lime juice

• 2 tbsp. olive oil

• 2 tbsp. honey

• 2 tbsp. fresh cilantro. My cilantro plant suffered an untimely demise, so I used a cilantro paste from the grocery store.

• 1 clove minced garlic

This makes a LOT of salad! It is great as an appetizer for company, or can even stand up as a delicious and healthy main dish.


Directions:

Cut your chicken breast into bite sized strips and put them in a bowl to marinate in the Tequila Lime Marinade for at least a half hour.




Meanwhile, you can prepare and assemble your other ingredients. You can start by dicing your avocado. The easiest way? Cut it in half and pop out the pit. Then score the flesh into cubes, and simply cut them away from the peel with a spoon.




Drain your tomatoes and beans.




Pour your lettuce into a bowl and toss with the tomatoes, beans, avocado, corn, cheese, and chips.




Grill up your chicken pieces on a Foreman grill (or other grill, or sautee in a pan). Toss the warm chicken into the salad as well.




Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing. TIP: Add the oil before the honey so it coats your measuring spoon and makes it easier for the honey to slide off. Go ahead and toss the dressing into your salad. Lots of salad tossing going on!




Your delicious Mexican salad is now complete. Buen provecho!