Southwestern Salad with Mexi-Ranch Dressing

Southwestern Salad with Mexi-Ranch Dressing

This salad was an impromptu throw together of leftover ingredients from our burrito bowls this weekend.  I really enjoyed it and would definitely make it again.  It was a nice variation on a traditional taco salad.  This salad would be great with sliced grilled chicken, but I don't normally eat meat with my weeknight dinners.  The dressing was good, but I would probably add the juice of 1/2 a lime next time to thin it out a bit and give it a little more acid.  The dressing would also be a great dipping sauce for a Southwestern Chicken Wrap, or Chicken Fajita Wrap.  This dressing will make enough for 2 dinner sized salads, or 4 side salads.  The dressing has a lot of ingredients, but they are all things that I always have on hand, so this is an easy one for me to whip up at any time.

Salad

-Spinach or Salad Mix

-chopped tomato

-canned corn, drained

-canned black beans, rinsed and drained

-fresh cilantro leaves

-chopped avocado

-diced red onion

-shredded cheddar cheese, if desired (I didn't use any though)

Dressing

-1/4 cup light mayo

-1/4 cup light sour cream
-1 Tbsp skim milk
-2 tsp minced tomatoes
-1 1/2 tsp white vinegar
-1 tsp minced jarred jalapeno peppers
-1 tsp minced onion
-1 tsp sugar
-1/4 tsp dried parsley
-1/4 tsp hot sauce
-1/8 tsp dried dill weed
-1/8 tsp paprika
-1/8 tsp garlic powder
-1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
-1/8 tsp cumin
-1/8 tsp chili powder
-1/8 tsp salt
-fresh ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients & chill before serving.

Shannon