Cold Summer Salad: A Taste of Tex-Mex

     During the long, hot summer I occasionally buy a Costco rotisserie chicken and break it down for cool summer meals such as chicken salad, sandwiches or tostadas.  I'd been thinking of giving a Tex-Mex chicken salad another try but still hadn't found the "right" dressing.  We were out at Chuy's, one of our go-to Tex-Mex restaurants, when I found my inspiration.  Chuy's has what looks like a creamy light green salsa (which I thought was sour cream-based like other restaurants') that I discovered is actually their jalapeno ranch dressing.  They simply add canned jalapenos and cilantro to store-bought ranch dressing (we asked!).  I don't care for pickled (canned) jalapenos (and the dressing was very salty) but the liquid thinned the dressing nicely.  I was now ready to give Tex-Mex chicken salad another try! 

Tex-Mex Chicken Salad, a tasty mixture of flavors and textures.

Tex-Mex  Chicken Salad

Ingredients: 

For Salad: 

• Cooked chicken, skin and fat removed (I used 14 ounces)
• Cooked pinto (or black, kidney, etc.) beans, rinsed and drained (I used 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 medium red onion, diced
• 2 ears (or equivalent of frozen kernels) of cooked corn, kernels removed
• Red, green, orange, yellow bell peppers, cut into a large dice (I used 3 small)
• Lettuce for your base (iceberg, romaine, etc.)
• A handful of fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
  

A colorful combination of ingredients waiting for a little kick of seasoning.

For Seasoning Mix:

• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• Dash of hot paprika or cayenne
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 
• 1/8-1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (adjust salt if using garlic salt)

I combined the spices together before adding it (a teaspoon at a time) to the salad ingredients.

Easy Jalapeno Ranch Dressing:

• Ranch dressing ( I used 2 servings of Bolthouse Farms yogurt ranch)
• 1-2 teaspoons freshly grated jalapeno
• Palm full of fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
• Juice of one key lime (1-2 teaspoons lime juice)

I enjoy the light, fresh flavor of this dressing for dipping veggies or on a wedge salad.

Putting It Together:

      Cook or grill corn, cut off kernels and place in a small bowl to cool; cover and chill in frig until ready to assemble salad.  Remember to weigh if counting carbs or Points.  Dice red onion (looks colorful but any sweet onion will do); add to salad bowl.  I find raw onion to be a bit too harsh so I tempered the onion flavor by soaking the diced pieces in a bowl of ice water while I prepared the remaining ingredients. 

Mellowing the onion pieces in ice water.

     Rinse, trim and dice the peppers; add to the salad bowl.  I had red, orange and yellow from my big Costco bag but use any combination you prefer.  A red, green and orange would have been my first choice but not what was on hand.  Rinse and drain the canned plain pinto (or other) beans; add to salad bowl.  For a non-meat salad just add more beans and some cheese.  Remove bones, skin and fat from cooked chicken, cut into large chunks and add to salad bowl.  Don't forget to weigh the chicken if you're counting Points.  I was able to find nutritional information on-line for Costco rotisserie chicken with the skin removed and it is in sync with WW's Complete Food Companion Guide.  

This little wipe-off board inside my spice cupboard is a very handy way to keep track of ingredients.

     Combine the dry spices in a small bowl, stir to combine and set aside.  Next time I might add a bit of smoked paprika or chipotle seasoning.  Drain the onions and add them and the cooled corn to the rest of the ingredients in the salad bowl.  If using frozen corn just add it to the bowl first to give the kernels time to thaw.  Gently stir to combine and sprinkle on a teaspoon or two of the pre-mixed seasoning; stir again and taste.  Add and stir a bit more until you are happy with the seasoning level - I did not use all I had made.  Stir in rough-chopped cilantro; cover and chill until ready to serve.

     Measure out your home-made or favorite store-bought ranch dressing - I used 4 tablespoons of Bolthouse yogurt ranch for the entire salad (4 PPs).  Target is where I first found the Bolthouse yogurt ranch.  Add a teaspoon (or two) of grated (micro plane works best) or very, very finely chopped fresh jalapeno and about two to three tablespoons (measured before chopping) of cilantro leaves that you have chopped very, very finely.  Add lime juice and stir well, refrigerate before serving.  If I had been making a larger quantity of dressing I would have used my Cuisinart.  I don't like a lot of dressing but if you use more, just add more jalapeno and cilantro to taste and adjust the PPs value.   

     When ready to serve, place each salad serving on a bed of lettuce (your choice) and drizzle with the jalapeno ranch dressing.  Separate additional toppings of jalapeno, tomato, sour cream, cheese, guacamole, etc. allow diners to customize their salad without adding PPs to yours.  Though next time I am going to have a small serving of old-school yellow corn chips (think Frito's and Frito pie!) on the side!

An array of additional toppings allows diners to customize the salad table side.

     My husband and I both loved this salad!  The crunchy vegetables (especially that yummy sweet crunch from the corn); the creamy, dense beans; and moist, spicy chicken topped with the cold, spiked ranch dressing was a flavor and texture delight!  Leftover beef or pork, or using all beans for a meatless meal would all work well, too.  

     Weight Watcher's Recipe Builder valued the entire recipe as made above to be 26 Points Plus (and it's loaded with Power Foods, too!).  The recipe made 6 generous 1 cup-servings (excluding the lettuce) valued at 4 PPs each (including jalapeno ranch dressing and the lettuce) - what a small price for a delicious dish.  I know I will be making this one a few more times this summer and it is joining my permanent recipe rotation.  I hope you'll give this cool summer treat a try, too!