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WHAT’S IN the SOUTHWESTERN CHICKEN SALAD WITH Lime VINAIGRETTE?
All good things of course. Crunchy romaine lettuce, a variety of veggies, black beans, fresh herbs, pepitas, organic chicken and avocado, finished off with a tasty lime vinaigrette that you can whisk together in a flash!
Buy Cutlets or Make Them Yourself!
Hopefully your supermarket sells chicken cutlets, that will definitely save you time. If not, you can make them yourself no problem, it’s easy and I explain it all in the recipe. But if you need a visual, here it is:
A Happy Healthy Meal in About 25 Minutes!
Nothing makes me happier than a healthy, delicious meal made in under a half hour. I hope you love it.
Need More Complete Meal Salads?
If you love quick, easy complete meal salads, check out my Caprese Salad with Rotisserie Chicken and my Blackened Chicken Quinoa Salad.
The Recipe: Southwest Chicken Salad with Lime Vinaigrette!
Tips and what you need: as always you need a good knife. I use a hand held juicer to juice citrus.
A delicious complete meal salad for two. If you have time, I recommend brining the chicken in salt water for 30 minutes before cooking as this makes the most tender chicken breasts. But if you are in a hurry, you can skip it.
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 teaspoon honey
- pinch of sea salt
- 2 2 chicken cutlets or 1 chicken breast made into two cutlets (instructions below)
- 1/2 a head of romaine lettuce, chopped
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes cut in half
- 1/3 cup black beans
- 1 Persian cucumber diced (Persian cukes are very small, no need to peel)
- 1/3 cup roasted salted pepitas (pumpkin seeds
- 1 cob of corn, corn shaved off cob
- 1 1 /2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 of a ripe avocado peeled and sliced
- 6 sprigs cilantro (for garnish)
- sea salt and pepper to taste
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NOTE: If you want your chicken breasts super moist and tender, brine them for 30 minutes first: see directions for making cutlets below, then pour water into a bowl and add 1/3 cup sea salt or kosher salt. Leave cutlets in water for thirty minutes, then pat dry and continue with directions below.
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Make dressing by placing all ingredients in a small bowl and whisking until emulsified
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Place chicken breast flat on a cutting board. Slice the breast in half (so it is half as thick as it was but just as wide and long) Place each half between two pieces of parchment paper and fold the edges of paper to prevent splattering. You can use plastic wrap as well but I just hate wasting plastic! Pound with a rolling pin until breast is about a 1/2 inch thick. Now you have two cutlets! Sprinkle both sides of chicken with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
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Wash, dry and chop romaine, place on a platter and add tomatoes, cucumbers, pepitas and black beans, set aside
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Shave corn off cob using knife. Place a medium sized skillet on high heat, when skillet is hot add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Turn heat down to medium heat and add chicken cutlets to pan. Cook each side for 4 minutes, remove from pan and allow to rest. (Make sure it's cooked through, but don't over cook)
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Add a little more olive oil to pan if needed and add corn to pan, cook for 3-4 minutes, moving corn around with spatula frequently. Add chili powder and a little sea salt and stir corn some more, remove from heat.
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Peel and slice avocado. Add corn to salad platter, toss salad with dressing, plate. Slice chicken on the diagonal and place on top of each salad
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Add slices of avocado on top of chicken and garnish each salad with a few sprigs of cilantro, serve
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