BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad

Labor Day is upon us, and I can’t believe that fall is almost here!

Just kidding!

I live in Florida.

Fall doesn’t happen until, like, December.

So with that in mind, I will continue to offer amazing salad recipes.

Yeah, that’s right. I said “amazing salad recipes.”

Look, if I say a salad is delicious, then you can trust.

Usually because it’s slathered in creamy dressing.

And maybe a bunch of bacon.

But I digress. …

In a few months, I will be itching to bust out my crock pot and make some chili.

Or try out all the soup recipes I didn’t get to last year.

But, for now …

while I’m still soaking through my clothes,

putting my hair up 2.4 seconds after walking outside,

and rushing from one A/C filled spot to the next …

I’ll continue with the salads.

This particular salad comes from My Life as a Mrs.

She is quickly becoming one of my biggest girl crushes in the blogger world.

Mostly because I have yet to try one of her recipes that aren’t spot on.

Apparently, this BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad is a spin-off of one that you can get at The Cheesecake Factory.

Maybe you’ve had it?

But, me, there’s no way I’m ordering salad when I’m at a restaurant.

Especially at a restaurant that prioritizes cheesecake.

But anyway.

This salad is really, really good.

And this is coming from someone who doesn’t even really like BBQ sauce all that much.

So there’s that.

Ingredients:

BBQ Ranch Dressing:

• 3/4 cup mayonaise
• 1/2 cup milk or buttermilk
• 4 tablespoons BBQ of choice
• 1 tablespoon Hidden Valley Ranch powder
• 1 small garlic clove, grated
• cracked black pepper, to taste
• Bag of crispy onions (found in the salad dressing aisle)

Salad:

• 2-4 chicken breasts
• 1 cup BBQ sauce of choice, divided
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3-4 heads of Romaine lettuce, chopped
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1 can white or golden corn, rinsed and drained
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 avocado, diced
• Fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)

Directions:

For the Dressing:
Mix all ingredients together and set aside until ready to serve.

For the Salad:

Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Turn oven to broil. Lay chicken breasts out (on broiler pan if you have it, otherwise on a cookie sheet sprayed with nonstick spray. Cook about 6 minutes per side, depending on size of breast. (You can cut into it to check progress of doneness.) During last few minutes of cooking, baste the chicken breasts with 3/4 cups of the BBQ sauce (make sure to get both sides). Remove from oven and set aside to rest for 3 minutes. Cut into bite sized cubes.

Disperse lettuce evenly among four large salad plates or bowls. Next, add equal amounts of the tomato, corn, black beans, and avacado. Top each salad with a cubed up chicken breast followed by a handfull of the onion straws. Top with a drizzle of the BBQ Ranch Dressing and a drizzle of the remaining BBQ sauce. If desired add a sprinkle of cilatro on top. Serve.

[Source: Very slightly adapted from My Life as a Mrs. who was inspired by The Cheesecake Factory.]