Southwest Taco Salad with Creamy Guacamole Dressing

Southwest Taco Salad with Creamy Guacamole Dressing

Ahhh, where oh where did the summer go? School starts this week in my neck of the woods and temperatures have gone from sizzling hot to almost frosty. But that shouldn’t stop anyone from enjoying this zesty and crunchy salad filled with summer bounty topped with a smooth avocado dressing.

We’ve just returned this weekend from nine glorious days camping and fishing at the beautiful Oregon coast. What a wonderful way to end the summer!

Southwest Taco Salad with Creamy Guacamole Dressing
Adapted from Southwest Salad with Creamy Avocado Salsa Dressing at Carlsbad Cravings

Creamy Guacamole Dressing

1 small avocado, peeled and roughly diced
1 small jalapeño, seeded, deveined, and roughly chopped
1/4 cup cilantro
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/4 salsa, homemade or store-bought (I used my Hatch chile salsa)
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice from 1 lime
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 teaspoon cumin

Southwest Taco Salad

Grilled chicken breast, sliced (or deli rotisserie)
Corn kernels from 1 ear of sweet white corn
Chopped/shredded lettuce of choice
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 large red onion, chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup roasted pepitas
1/2 cup grated pepper jack cheese
Creamy Guacamole Dressing
Tortilla chips, for serving

Creamy Guacamole Dressing

Add all of the Creamy Guacamole Dressing ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. You will have to scrape down the sides a few times. Add additional milk, if needed, to thin to desired consistency. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Next, grill the chicken breast, if it isn’t already cooked.

Grilled Chicken

Remove the kernels from the ear of corn, using a Bundt-pan to catch the kernels, if you have one. (That’s a pretty cool tip I picked up from Pinterest.)

Cutting the Corn off the Cob

Add all the salad ingredients except dressing and chips to a large bowl. Toss to combine.

Southwest Taco Salad Ingredients

Add tossed salad to individual bowls, then top with guacamole dressing and serve with tortilla chips.

Download and Print this  Yummy Recipe!

 

 

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Paul’s Not-Street Tacos

Paul’s Not-Street Tacos

I kidded my husband about these. He said he was making “street tacos” for dinner the other night, but in reality they weren’t really street tacos because  they had black refried beans, gaucamole, and Cotijo cheese in them instead of just cilantro and onion. HOWEVER, they were very delicious all the same. I probably gave him too much of a hard time since he’s been cooking for the past two weeks while I have been putting in a lot of hours on a very demanding project at my work. That being said, I have had no time to pull the recipe from him for this, so instead will just let you enjoy the photos and let your imagination figure it out this time. The steak meat was delicious and tender, his homemade guacamole was fantastic, and his refried black beans had bacon in them! Perhaps I will have a chance to post the recipe at a later date (but don’t hold me to that!)

Speaking of a later date, I’ll be wrapping up my part of the project late Friday, and Saturday we (meaning ME!) will be taking a much-needed break and heading to fish and crab and read books and relax for a week on the river at the coast. So I will “see” you on the flip side. Enjoy your Labor Day Weekend next week!

Paul’s Not-Street Tacos, Up Close and Personal

Fajita Bar Party!

Grilled Chicken Fajitas

Hooey! What a busy week I’ve had so I’m just now getting around to writing about the Father’s Day Fajita Bar Party I threw last weekend. I cooked and marinated a few pounds of chicken for this feast, so technically these weren’t fajitas since a fajita refers to a cut of beef. However, since so many restaurants now serve chicken fajitas, I think this term is now widely accepted. I remembered to snap a few shots off while preparing this feast, however when it came to actual chow time, I never did end up with a picture of the table laid out with all the fixin’s. I’m sure you’ll forgive me.

Grilled Peppers and Onion

The day before the party, I sliced the chicken breasts in half lengthwise since they were so thick. This worked perfectly because I could cook a batch in only 10 minutes. I wasn’t sure how many no-shows I would have (there were two) so I just elected not to cook all of the chicken at once. When every deemed themselves full and happy, I bagged up the remaining uncooked chicken and threw it in the freezer for a quick and easy meal later.

Chicken Fajita Marinade

4-5 squeezed limes (enough to make about 1/2 cup lime juice)
1/2 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
8 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 dried ancho chiles, stems removed
Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb blend (optional)
Black pepper, to taste
3-4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved lengthwise if really thick

Chicken Fajita Marinade

Put all the ingredients in a blender except the chicken, and blend until smooth. Place the chicken in a non-metal container or gallon-sized baggie. I used a large Tupperware container. Maybe it’s Rubbermaid. But you know what I mean. Pour the marinade over the chicken, and marinate at least several hours or overnight. I did mine overnight and flipped it over in the morning. When ready to cook, fire up the grill to medium-hot heat, and grill each side about 5 minutes or until the inside is no longer pink. Serve on flour tortillas with condiments of choice. Ours included a homemade pico de gallo, recipe here: Pico de Gallo. Update: I wanted to note that I quadrupled the recipe for the Pico de Gallo I linked to.

Pico de Gallo

We also had guacamole, grilled red and yellow peppers, grilled onions, cheese, cilantro, black beans, and sour cream. I grilled the peppers and onion first, then sliced the peppers up thinner and kept them warm in a foil pan on the upper rack while I grilled the chicken. Great time, great food, and easy clean-up!

Note: The marinade was adapted from Lisa Fain’s recipe on her website http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/