I LOVE this salad!!

I was just thinking that I could be writing about some important things -- the study we just finished on Tuesday nights (which was excellent) or the book I'm reading for staff retreat (we are all reading it) -- instead I'm going to tell you about my new favorite salad and it is really delicious -- of course, I have no pictures!!  I had something similar at a shower and so I searched until I found a recipe that I liked and I did a lot of tweaking.

BLT Chopped Salad with Corn, Black Beans, Feta and Avocado

8 cups romaine lettuce - washed, dried and chopped

1/2 pint - or you can use the whole pint - grape tomatoes - cut in half

1 package of pre-cooked bacon -- heated, cooled and crumbled

1 can sweet corn (I love shoe peg) - drain if needed

1 can black beans (drained)

chopped green onions - two . . .or the whole bunch - depending on how much you like onion

orange or yellow bell pepper - chopped

2 avocados chopped

8 ounces feta - crumbled

I washed and chopped the lettuce and had it in a big bag with the tomatoes (in the fridge).  I had the other ingredients all ready to go (also in the fridge so that I could add at the last moment -- except the avocados they were in the garage ripening until the last minute)- - I peeled and chopped the avocado and added right before serving.

For the salad dressing, I took a bottle of light ranch - Hidden Valley - salad dressing and poured it into a bowl.  I added the juice of one to two limes and a healthy dose of  Tastefully Simple Fiesta Party Dip Mix (you can order here)  They have no idea I'm promoting their product nor have they paid me any money.  I love this stuff - made into dip or salad dressing!!

Whisk together and put in a mason jar (or container) until ready to serve.

Place all ingredients into a bowl and add dressing - a little at a time - and toss - until well coated.  There is one problem with this salad - once it is tossed, you don't want the leftovers, they are a soggy mess -- so you might want to toss smaller amounts if you think it is not going to be all consumed in one meal.  You can also make a much smaller salad using the same ingredients - smaller quantities.  

THIS IS SOOOOO GOOD!  Hope you enjoy as much as we have!

If you wanted to make it a complete meal, you could add grilled chicken - to the salad or on the side.  Also great served with the mexican casserole we served in this post.

I served to our young adults a couple of weeks ago and they loved it.  I probably added more lettuce to that salad - that is the good thing about this recipe - you can adjust for the number of people you will be serving.

Gotta go get ready for church -- see you soon!