You must make this salad.  MUST!

It’s more fixings than salad, and more of a main course than a side dish. Especially if you add chopped up grilled chicken to it. Oooooh, think: tequila lime chicken…but that’s a recipe for another post.

Today we’re talking about a rainbow of chopped up veggies, shredded cheeses, avocados and, of course, lettuce.  This will be huge enough to feed a crowd.

I made this for my niece’s 1st birthday party where gluten was an issue for some of the guests and the salad and dressing were a total hit!  The cool thing about this dressing is that it is dairy free and it also works on top of grilled steak and chicken for fajitas, or any Tex-Mex menu.

First things first: cook your bacon. You only need 1 lb of thick cut bacon, but you better get 2 lbs since it’s impossible not to snack on pieces while you throw this together. Also, bacon thieves come out of the woodwork once the smell of bacon hits the air {…Joel…}.  I like to lay slices down on a foil lined baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes in a 375° oven.  Once cooked, chop up and set aside.

While the bacon is baking, hard boil a few eggs. Maybe 3 or 4…or 4 or 5.  Truth be told, I have a hard time just hard boiling 2 or 3 eggs.  I like to boil at least 6 at a time, then eyeball how much looks good in the salad bowl then keep the rest in the fridge for snacks or 2nd breakfast.  There are a gazillion different ways to boil an egg. I go with the eggs in a saucepan of cold water, covering by an inch.  Set to boil on medium-high/high heat and let boil a few minutes. Cover with a lid, remove from heat and let “steep” for 20 minutes. Remove from pan and submerge in icy cold water.  Peel and chop 3-4 of them once cooled completely.

Now get your veggie chopping on.

1. Halve a pint of grape or cherry tomatoes
2. Seed and dice 1 red and 1 orange bell pepper
3. Seed and dice 1-2 jalapeños
4. Cut/remove kernels from 2 ears of fresh corn (can cheat here and use half of a can of corn, drained)
5. Cut 2 avocados into cubes

Here’s my secret to take the flavor of this salad up a click: heat a tablespoon of butter in a cast iron pan and cook the corn and jalapeño together for about 5-6 minutes. Just to roast and char ’em up a bit.  Let cool to room temp, or cook the night before and bring to room temp before adding to the salad.

Grab some pre-shredded cheese, or finely grate your own. Use a Colby-Jack or cheddar-Jack combo. Both are mild flavored and, well, just pretty to look at!

So…This is a salad, right?  My personal favs for the greens behind these toppings are chopped romaine and handfuls of baby spinach. You could use baby romaine, pre-packaged mixed Italian blend, pretty much any greens you’d like. I would skip head lettuce though because there is zero nutritional value in it. And you need some goodness to offset this much bacon!  Throw your greens into a large bowl and toss to combine.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Southwestern Cobb Salad (with Avocado-Cilantro Lime Dressing) Recipe

 

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Prep Time

25 mins

Cook Time

25 mins

Total Time

50 mins

 

Healthy, quick, easy LARGE salad to feed a crowd!

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

• 1 large head of romaine, chopped
• 2-3 large handfuls of baby spinach
• 1-2 lbs thick cut bacon, cooked and chopped
• 3-4 eggs, hard boiled and chopped
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered depending on how large they are
• 2 avocados, cubed
• 1 each, red & orange bell pepper, diced
• 2 ears of corn, kernels removed from the cob (or half of a can of corn, drained)
• 2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
• 1 cup finely shredded cheddar-jack, colby-jack or pre-packed "Mexican Blend" cheese
• 1 tablespoon of butter (to cook the corn and jalapeno, if desired)
• Store bought tortilla strips (in the salad toppings isle)

Instructions

1. In a cast iron or heavy bottom skillet, heat a tablespoon of butter on medium-high heat. Add corn kernels and diced jalapeno and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon until lightly charred.
2. In a large bowl, toss chopped romaine and baby spinach making a bed of lettuces.
3. Arrange toppings (corn & jalapeno mixture, bell peppers, tomatoes, egg, bacon and avocado) in neat little rows or triangular wedges atop the bed of lettuce and spinach.
4. Line the edge with shredded cheese.
5. Serve with Avocado Cilantro-Lime Dressing

Notes

Do your chopping and arranging while the bacon is cooking. The 25 minutes of prep time overlap the 25 minutes of 'cook' time so this recipe doesn't actually take more than 30 minutes to throw together.

3.2.1251

Ok, well, one of the best…it definitely makes my top 10 list of grilled cheeses.  And boy can I judge a good grilled cheese!

And heck, since April is Grilled Cheese Month, I’m more than happy to share this beauty with you.  Let me first tell you how this baby was born:  This is actually a story of leftovers falling in love and finding a new home with each other.

Rye bread isn’t something I keep around the house regularly.  I just happened to have half the loaf left over from St. Patrick’s Day’s corned beef Rubens and I wanted to put it to good use.

I also had half a brick of Gruyere left from scalloped potatoes I made that same weekend for my sweet little niece, Cora’s, baptism.  Add to that some cherry tomato stragglers from an orzo dish, avocados I forgot about on the counter and a handful of spinach left in the fridge.

So here goes nothing!

Butter 1 side of each piece of bread ~ I used Brummel and Brown, but any old butter or light margarine will work.

On the opposite side of the butter, lay the sliced cheese on one piece of bread and smash the sliced avocado onto the other, leaving a few chunks.  Salt and pepper your avocado.

Heck, salt and pepper your sliced tomatoes too, while you’ve got the mills handy.

Put a pan on the stove to just above medium high heat and let it get nice and warm.  Place the bread with the cheese slices on it, butter side down.

Add a handful of baby spinach and seasoned sliced tomatoes to the warmed and melting cheese.

So really, you could use any tomatoes you have on hand.  I only had grape tomatoes, but vine ripe, roma, or campari would be lovely as well.  Those giant hot house or beefsteak boys will be too hearty and not as flavorful, so stay away from these for this recipe.

Top with the 2nd slice of bread, avocado side to the veggies.

Once the bottom side has browned and the cheese has started to melt, carefully flip the sandwich so the avocado side’s buttery side is now on the skillet.

Smash it down a snooch and cook until the bottom side is now evenly browned.

Once browned and cheese is melted, transfer to a cutting board for cutting or a plate for eating.

I ate this right off of the cutting board.

Please don’t judge me!  Hey, I let it cool for at least 5.2 seconds before digging in!

Now I know you’re going to laugh at the measurements this recipe calls for…since this grilled cheese creation came about on leftovers and a craving the below is only a guide for you to tweak to your preference and taste buds.  But don’t skimp ~ this is meant to be an ooey-gooey-juicy giant of a grilled cheese.

Enjoy!

5.0 from 1 reviews

The Best Grilled Cheese Ever {Gruyere, Spinach, Avocado & Tomato}

 

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Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

10 mins

Total Time

20 mins

 

Not just any grilled cheese. This gourmet sandwich uses Gruyere, avocado, baby spinach and sweet sliced tomatoes to warm up the coldest of days and fill the hungriest of hungers.

Serves: 1

Ingredients

• 2 slices of rye bread
• 2 slices of Gruyere, or enough to evenly cover 1 slice of bread
• ¼ of an avocado, sliced
• 1 small handful of baby spinach
• 2-4 slices of a sweet tomato, such as vine ripened, roma or campari (grape tomatoes work well too!), lightly seasoned with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
• Sea salt & fresh cracked pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Heat a skillet to medium/medium-high
2. Butter 1 side of each slice of bread
3. On the non-buttered sides, lay the cheese slice(s) evenly across 1 piece and smash the sliced avocado on the other piece, leaving a few chunks. Add a sprinkle of salt and pepper to the avocado.
4. Lay the buttered side of the bread (the one with the cheese on it) on the skillet and top with baby spinach and tomatoes.
5. Top this layer with the slice that has the smushed avocado, avocado side down, buttered side out.
6. Once the cheese has started to melt and the bottom piece is browned, carefully flip the sandwich and toast the opposite side until evenly browned.
7. Remove to a plate to cool down and crisp up.

3.2.1230