Southwest Chicken Salad

This is another tasty dinner brought to me by a friend after I had Solomon. It tastes super fresh and the dressing was so flavorful but light. She had the veggies below on it as well as avocado and yellow bell peppers. She also seasoned the chicken with the same seasonings from the dressing for added flavor. That's what I love about taco salads like this - you can add just about whatever veggies you have around and it's still delicious.

Southwest Chicken Salad I

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 cups shredded romaine lettuce
• 4 cooked skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into strips
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 small red onion, sliced into rings
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 6 ounces tortilla chips

Directions

1. In a covered jar, mix the lime juice, olive oil, salt, garlic, cilantro, chili powder, and cumin. Cover, and shake until well blended.
2. Place the lettuce in a large bowl. Toss with the chicken, black beans, onion, and tomato. Just before serving, toss with the dressing mixture and Parmesan cheese. Serve with tortilla chips, either crushed over the top of the salad, or on the side.

From here.

Julie's Pesto Pasta Salad

One of the bonuses of having a baby is that even though I don't feel like cooking, many nice people cook have cooked for me! So over the last month I've collected quite a few new and absolutely delicious recipes from my closest friends. This recipe is from my friends Susan (who got the recipe from her sweet daughter Robyn). It is some of the tasiest pesto salad I've had. Ever.


Julie's Pesto Pasta Salad
 
1 package of bow tie pasta, cooked as directions on package
3 to 4 chicken breasts, cooked on the grill and cut into pieces
purple or sweet onion (carmelized--I added just about a half Tablespoon of brown sugar to carmelize)
craisins
pesto sauce (I used about 1/2 bottle of Pesto sauce from Costco, heated with a little half and half to make it creamier)
Feta cheese (you can also use fresh parmesan or some of both)
 
Toss together and serve warm.