It’s that day of the week.  The one where my number one taste-tester becomes the chef.  Yes this is another tried and true meal your man can make for you :)

No surprise that in our household these meals will generally have a Mexican theme to them since Andrew loves Mexican food and is having an affair with avocados or “avos” as he likes to say.  I am pretty sure that he would dress me up as an avo if he could.  I should be careful what I say about avocado costumes since Halloween is around the corner.

We decided to tag team this meal.  He mans the grill and preps the veggies, I create the dressing.  He was pretty proud of the grill marks on his chicken:

Yes, I was instructed to take a close up of the grill marks.

Don’t worry you don’t need to make your own dressing for this salad you can top it with ranch, bbq sauce, a vinaigrette, whatever your heart desires…my heart just happens to be OBSESSED with CUMIN.  I love the earthy flavor of cumin and this is the spice I associate with Tex-Mex food.  I like to balance sweet, cool, earthy, spicy, and citrus when I make this dressing.  I think the end result is the perfect mix, but you can feel-free to play with the flavors if you prefer a little more creamy or less spicy.

How amazing does that look?  Even without the dressing and cheese, my mouth is watering…

As always,

Bon Appeteek

Prep Time: 20 min + 1 hr for marinade
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 2

The Players:

For the salad:
1-2 chicken breasts
BBQ sauce for marinade, extra for drizzling
1/2 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 C frozen sweet corn, thawed
1 vine ripe tomato, diced
1/2 C red onion, slliced
1/2 C English cucumber, halved and sliced
1 avocado, pitted and cubed
6 oz baby spinach
1/2 C extra sharp cheddar, shredded
2 T fresh cilantro, chopped

For the dressing:
1/4 C greek yogurt
1/8 C light agave syrup
1/8 C extra virgin olive oil
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and minced
Juice of 1/2 a lime
2 t cumin
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and cracked pepper to taste

The Rules:

1. Trim the fat from the chicken breast.  Marinate chicken in your favorite bbq sauce for at least one hour, preferably 3-4 hours in the refrigerator.
2. While the chicken is marinating, prep all vegetables, except the corn and black beans, for the salad.  (Note: you can squeeze some fresh lime juice over the avocado to prevent from turning brown or wait to cut this until the salad is assembled)
3. Pre-heat the grill to 400 F. Grill the chicken for 5-6 minutes per side.  Remove from grill and allow to rest.  This will prevent the juices from running when you slice the chicken.
4. Place frozen corn in a small sauce pan with 1 tsp of water over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally until heated through (~5 minutes). Remove from heat once warm.
5. Place black beans in a small sauce pan with 1-2 Tbsp of water over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally until heated through (~5 minutes). Remove from heat once warm.
6. While the corn and black beans are warming up and the chicken is cooking, prepare the dressing by combining all of the ingredients in a small mixing bowl and whisking together.
7. Assemble the salad in a large serving bowl: spinach, then fresh vegetables, corn and black beans, grilled chicken, shredded cheese, and cilantro.  Serve with extra bbq sauce and dressing drizzled over the top or on the side.