Good Eats: Romaine Salad topped with Southwestern Black Bean Salsa and Taco-Seasoned Shredded Chicken

Well that was a mouthful....

But seriously, ya'll.  I'll admit it.  Since getting married (although we have lived apart for most of our marriage), I've fallen into the rut of cooking "familiar favorites'. While these dishes are taste-bud pleasers for sure, it's time to branch out there and test some new kitchen waters.  This salad was exactly what we needed to kick start a fresh summer of new recipes.

When my husband said he wanted to start eating healthier I was a tad concerned.  Let's be honest- Little Debbie is one of my heroes and the lady at Publix knows me as the Reese's puff cereal queen.... healthy? How about healthy-ish. 

So this month, I gave in compromised.  All new recipes for the month of July, and if we use a "familiar favorite" we've got to make it healthier.  Ready...set....go.

I'm all about fresh fruits and vegetables... don't get me wrong, but many times when I cook up a recipe that is super healthy, I usually correlate that with tasteless.  So we decided to start July off with this fabulous salad that is anything but tasteless.  In fact, it was so packed with flavor- I barely used any of the sundried tomato vinaigrette I was so stoked to test out.  Packed with protein, low in fat, and TONS of flavor.  This recipe will definitely be gracing our bellies table again. 

Ingredients- Salad Basics

- heart of romaine lettuce

- favorite lite salad dressing and/or oil/vinegar (we used a sundried tomato vinaigrette and it brought out the smoky flavors of the chicken wonderfully)

- 1 medium avocado, chopped

 

Ingredients- Black Bean "salsa"

confession: I tweaked this recipe from skinnytaste.  I thought their recipe was FABULOUS, but I needed something just a littttttle different for the flavors I had in mind.

 

- 15.5 oz can low sodium black beans, rinsed & drained

- 15.5 oz canned "No Salt Added" Sweet yellow corn, rinsed & drained

- 1 large plum tomato, chopped

- 1 cup diced white onion (I prefer to buy mine pre-chopped and frozen)

- 6 tbsp. lime juice (or the juice of approximately 2 medium limes)

- 1 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

- 2 Tbsp Dried Oregano

- Salt & Pepper, to taste

 

Ingredients- Taco-Seasoned Chicken

- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (or 6 chicken tenderloins)

- 1/2 packet of low-salt taco seasoning (or you can make your own here.  (I would have preferred to make my own- so I can control what goes into it, but I was short on time this go-around)

- salt & pepper, to taste

- 1/2 tbsp. crushed red pepper flakes

- 1 tsp cumin

 

To Prepare:

1. Preheat oven to 400*F. Spray 8 x 13 glass casserole dish with cooking spray.  Lay chicken in pan and drizzle with EVOO, Salt, and Pepper.  Bake 45 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
2. While chicken is cooking, prepare the black bean "salsa".   In a medium bowl, combine black beans, corn, tomato, onion, oregano, salt, and pepper.  Add lime juice and stir.  Stir in olive oil.  Cover, place in fridge to marinate for 30 minutes.
3. When chicken is cooked, shred it. (You can slow-cook your chicken and shred with two forks if you'd like, or you can use your standard mixer with the beater-attachment which is my go-to.).  Add taco seasoning, crushed red pepper, and cumin.  Continue shredding until complete.
4. Slice avocado. Set aside.
5. Assemble salad.  Place heart of romaine on the bottom, top with  1/2 cup (or more) of black bean salsa.  Place shredded chicken on top. Top with avocado when ready to serve.

 

Happy nom-ing, ya'll