Southwest Salad with Chipotle Ranch

This colorful, delicious salad was the reason I made my chipotle grilled chicken. It is super yummy and I enjoyed taking it to work for lunch everyday.

By the way, I made this salad for my older sister (the designer of my blog) when she visited me last and she loved it.

Unfortunately, I got a little too excited about making this salad to remember to take an ingredients photo so just pretend it's there, ok?

You will need: salad mix (I chose baby spinach but any salad mix would be delicious), 1 bottle of ranch dressing,  1 can of sweet corn, 1 can of black beans, 1 avocado, 1 sweet bell pepper, 1 small onion, 1 large carrot (or about 15 baby carrots), 1 chipotle pepper and 1 tsp adobo sauce, 1 tomato, and chopped (or sliced) chipotle grilled chicken.

To make the dressing, finely chop one chipotle pepper and add it to your bottle of ranch dressing.

Now scoop a tablespoon of that delicious adobo sauce out of the can and pour it into the bottle of ranch.

Close the bottle and give it a good shake. Voila! Chipotle ranch.

If you're wondering why my ranch bottle looks like a water bottle, that's because it is. I like to use the ranch mixes and I find it's easiest to just put it into a water bottle.

Next, chop up your sweet pepper, onion, and carrot.

If you're making just one serving of salad, I recommend that you ahead and chop everything then just store the leftovers in a ziplock. It makes getting your lunch together so much easier.

Toss the corn and beans into a colander and allow to drain.

Give them a good rinse to get all the canning liquid off of them.

Slice the chipotle chicken into strips (or cubes if that's how you roll).

Grab a large plate and pile on some spinach...

Toss on some onions, peppers, and carrots...

Some beans...

And some corn.

Now slice up 1/4 of a tomato and 1/4 of an avocado.

Now throw on the tomatoes, avocado, and chicken.

Drizzle the salad with the chipotle dressing and enjoy!

The second time I made this salad, I also added bacon and blue cheese. It was an amazingly delicious decision.

Southwest Salad with Chipotle Ranch

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle of ranch dressing
• 1 chipotle pepper, finely minced and 1 tsp adobo sauce (the sauce the peppers are canned in)
• 1 can of sweet corn, drained and rinsed
• 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1 sweet bell pepper, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 large carrot (or about 15 baby carrots), chopped
• 4 cups of salad mix
• 1 tomato, sliced
• chipotle grilled chicken, sliced

Instructions:

1. To make the dressing, add the chipotle pepper and adobo sauce to the ranch dressing and mix. Set aside.
2. Layer equal parts of the remaining ingredients onto 4 plates. Drizzle with the dressing. Add some bacon and blue cheese if you know what's good for you.
3. Serve immediately.