Recipe: Chicken & Black Bean Salad

What is it about the winter season that makes me feel as if I've been overeating for six months straight? No matter what I do, I just feel... blah. So I opted to make big, yummy salads for dinner the other day when I was in search of something not-so-heavy and likely to induce a coma.

I love this recipe for Chicken & Black Bean Salad, which is almost identical to the one found in a Taste of Home Chicken Cookbook.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1-1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups frozen corn
1 medium red pepper, chopped
1/2 cup green onions, sliced
2 cups chicken, cooked and diced

2-3 heads of romaine, washed and chopped

Directions:

Combine the oil, lime juice, cilantro, sugar, garlic, chili powder, salt and pepper to make a dressing. Mix beans, corn, red pepper, green onions and chicken together in a bowl and then coat with the oil mixture. Serve over lettuce.

Couldn't be much simpler... and it's so tasty!

A couple of thoughts:

My measurements aren't very exact when I make this. We really love cilantro, so I add more than is called for. Same with the garlic.

You can make the topping ahead and stash it in the fridge, putting it over your lettuce when you're ready to eat.

I like to use rotisserie chicken because it's easy and fast. Or, when we're grilling chicken, I make sure there will be leftovers to use for a big batch of salad.

...and? We decided the other day that it might make a tasty chip dip (sans chicken), or a yummy topping for grilled chicken in the summer.