The Egg Goes Southwestern

When I was deciding on recipes to feature for this week to celebrate Easter and eggs I knew I wanted something that used hard boiled eggs in the 'non-traditional' since (you know not as in deviled eggs and egg salad sandwiches). Not that there is anything wrong with these foods (I love them dearly) but I wanted something slightly different.

That's where the wheels in my head started turning and I couldn't stop thinking about a nice fresh cobb salad! I love the flavors of Southwestern/Tex-mex food and wanted to come up with a cobb salad to reflect this. So here it is the final salad in all it's Southwestern glory. Crisp lettuce, juicy chicken, sweet corn, plump tomatoes and black beans. And of course those darn hard boiled eggs!

Notes: The chicken I serve with this is what I called salsa chicken. It is so incredibly easy to make and is perfect in tacos, burritos, tortilla soup, enchiladas, served with rice or just about any dish Southwestern/Tex-mex/Mexican inspired. Also I have this photographed with all the salad ingredients on a serving platter. This is a great way to serve an entree salad like this at a dinner party. Set up a serving table and allow your guests to make their own salad (think your own salad bar) so that people can add the things they like (and avoid the things they don't).

Southwestern Cobb Salad

by Heather of Kitchen Concoctions: www.kitchen-concoctions.com

Printable Version

Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: on high 4-5 hours on low 6-8 hours Serves 8

Dressing:
1 cup ranch dressing
1/2 cup tomatillo salsa (salsa verde)

Salad:
4 large skinless, boneless chicken breast
1 (16 ounce) jar salsa

10 cups torn romaine lettuce

4 roma tomatoes, diced
2 small avocados, diced

1/2 cup real bacon bits

1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
4 hard boiled eggs, diced
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese

To prepare chicken:

Place chicken breasts in crockpot. Add entire jar of salsa. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low 6-8 hours. When chicken is done cooking, shred into bite size pieces.

To prepare dressing:
Whisk together ranch dressing and tomatillo salsa.

To assemble salad:

Combine all ingredients and toss with desired amount of dressing. Top with cheese.