Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Barbecue Chicken Salad

(FYI, this is more of a weeknight dinner idea than an actual recipe. Nonetheless, de-lish.)

Barbecue Chicken salad is a great way to use up all your extra veggies because pretty much anything works in it. I think I'll be experimenting for months to get just the right combination of ingredients suited to my and Ryan's taste. After making it tonight and evaluating what we needed more of, I'd say this is the perfect start for us:
  • Romaine lettuce
  • Tomatoes
  • Grated (sharp) cheddar cheese
  • A whole bunch of white corn
  • A ton of red onion, sliced in rings (not pictured here)
  • Grilled barbecued chicken
  • BBQ sauce for dressing
  • One bunch of cilantro (I think this ingredient is key—the more, the merrier!)

Then if you're feeling like it, you could throw in a few of these ingredients too:
  • Black beans, to boost the fiber and protein.
  • A red bell pepper, which I used tonight because I had one on hand. I would definitely recommend it; it lends a nice crunch.
  • Broken tortilla chips, for even more crunch.
I know a lot of people like to dress a BBQ chicken salad with ranch, so go for it if you're a ranch fan. To cut some fat calories, we usually skip the ranch and just dress the salad with a little extra BBQ sauce.

2 comments:

Jamie said...

This is a staple at our house--in fact I ate it on Tuesday. I add jicama and Monterey Jack cheese. Also, for the dressing I mix equal parts bbq sauce and ranch; it tastes like the BBQ Chop Salad from CPK. Yum.

Liz said...

Erica, I'm not the best cook but I love what your blog has done for me. I feel like I can try to make yummy food too. They're not nearly as fancy as your stuff but it always makes me so proud of myself. Tonight we had the missionaries over last minute for dinner. I made lasagna, a green salad, and garlic bread with strawberry delight for dessert. It made me smile when one of the missionaries asked what it was. They both loved it--as did my husband. Thanks for the inspiration! :)