BBQ Chicken & Ranch Salad

There is a restraunt in my home town that makes this fantastic salad called the "BBQ Salad" living out of state - I haven't had it for a while. I asked my hubs what he wanted for dinner and when he replied 'BBQ chicken' I though hmmmmm. My husband and ALL my kids love themselves some BBQ - I'm not a huge fan of BBQ chicken - but as the Mom - I want to make everybody happy (as I am sure all of you do too!)

I thought of the salad I ate with BBQ chicken and LOVED and decided to re-create it to the best of my knowledge and ability. When I told my husband my idea that incorporated his BBQ Chicken with my idea for dinner - he was skeptical. He watched me make the kids salads per their specifications and waited for me to make my salad the way it's "supposed" to be made per the recipe. When my masterpiece was perfect - he asked for a bite to decide how he was going to eat his BBQ Chicken tonight. He took one bite and was sold...


BBQ Chicken & Ranch Salad
4 BBQ Chicken Breasts cut into chunks
2 heads of Romain lettuce, washed and cut into chunks
2 c sweet corn
1 can black beans, rinsed
1/2 c tomatoes, diced
1/2 c onion, diced
1 T jalepeno, diced finely
1 T cilantro
1 t lime juice
2 c Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Tortilla strips
Ranch Dressing

Assemble ingredients to your liking. I put the Romaine on the bottom, sprinkle with corn, beans, tomatoes, onion, jalepeno & cilantro. Drizzle with a bit of lime juice. Add mozzarella, BBQ chicken, torilla strips (or in today's case - tortilla chips) and Ranch dressing. All 5 of us licked our plates clean - my 3 year old literally licked her plate clean. It was a crowd pleaser. Considering it made me rethink BBQ chicken at home and turned my husband onto a BBQ Salad - this is a winner!

*You can substitute the tomato, onion, jalapeno, cilantro & lime juice by using pre-made Pico de Gallo!