Weeknight No-Brainer BBQ Chicken Salad

The Hubby and I were recently in New Orleans for ten days for a combination of work and pleasure, and so it's pretty much been deep-fried catfish, and deep-fried shrimp po'boys, and deep-fried french fries and deep-fried chicken, and deep-fried crawfish, and deep-fried bacon (didn't even know this was a thing!), and deep fried chicken wings, and deep fried boudin, and deep-friend beignets, and even deep-fried pickles, jalapeños, and mushrooms.

One time I tried to be healthy and ordered a salad, and the only vegetable on my plate was 11 sprigs of arugula topped with fried green tomatoes, huge croutons, bacon, and a creamy dressing.  Another time The Hubby ordered a 1/2 sandwich, and what arrived was the biggest sandwich I've ever seen in my life.  I told the waitress that there was an error because we only ordered the half-size, to which she laughed and told me that was the half-size.  Makes sense, since it was the size of a small baby.  We were doomed a delicious, delicious fate.  Which leaves my waist-line in a bit of a predicament because The Hubby and I are off to our friend April's wedding at an all-inclusive in Mazatlan in just a little over a week, and I'm pretty sure that appropriate sun-bathing attire isn't my most comfortable pair of extra-large pyjamas.

So, The Hubby and I declared the next few week to be a 'salad-only' week.  But on the first night of the challenge we didn't want just plain greens and dressing, so to ease our way into it we made this satisfying and easy BBQ Chicken Salad.  It's the salad that eats like a meal, with black beans, corn, cheddar cheese, BBQ chicken, cilantro, red onion, corn chips, bell pepper, and tomatoes, all tossed in a BBQ ranch dressing.  Tomorrow night's salad is The Hubby's choice where we will be going full healthy (and I already see radishes, cucumber, cauliflower, and other healthy veggies in the fridge), so I've got to live 'la vida loca' tonight while I can.



You really don't need a recipe for this salad, The Hubby is reminding me as I am typing this.  But also as I am typing this, I am reminding him that this is my blog and it's an archive of the recipes that we like, so I'm posting it here anyways.  And besides, I had to do a quick Google search of 'BBQ Chicken Salad' ingredients to kickstart my grocery shopping list for this meal, so maybe it's not entirely obvious. At least it wasn't to me!  This salad is very easy to make, and perfect for a weeknight meal.

One Year Ago:  Beef Pot Roast with Root Vegetables
Two Years Ago:  Greek Quinoa Salad

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Weeknight No-Brainer BBQ Chicken Salad

Serves:  4

Ingredients

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup BBQ sauce
• 1 head romaine lettuce (washed, dried, and torn)
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 16 grape tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup matchstick carrots (or just thinly slice some carrots)
• 1 can corn, drained and rinsed
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• A few sprigs of fresh cilantro
• Light ranch dressing
• BBQ sauce
• 1/2 cup corn chips
• Small amount of grated cheddar cheese (optional)

Direction

Fire up your BBQ and place the chicken on the grill, brushing with the BBQ sauce every few minutes, until cooked through and no longer pink in the middle.  Set aside until ready to use.

Place the lettuce into a large salad bowl and top with green pepper, tomatoes, onion, carrots, corn, black beans, and cilantro.  Drizzle with ranch dressing and more BBQ sauce (not the stuff that touched the brush that touched the raw chicken).  Toss just before serving, then add the corn chips.  Add cheddar cheese if desired.  Enjoy as your dinner entree.