Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Southwest chicken salad (Red Robin style)

"How about a Big Salad?...It’s a salad, only bigger, with lots of stuff in it..."

Ingredients:
1 bag (your choice) salad (Dole)
2 chicken breasts
4 tbsp finely diced red onions
1/4 cup red bell peppers diced
1/4 cup green bell peppers diced
1/4 cup black beans rinsed and drained
1 pkg Grill Mates Chipotle Pepper Marinade
20 sliced jar jalapenos (pickled)
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup crunchy tortilla strips (Texas toast-Chili Lime)
Hidden Valley Spicy Ranch (add as much or as little as you want)
1 large avocado (don't cut until the salad is ready to serve)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 cup water plus more for jalapeno coins batter
1/2 cup oil for frying
3 tbsp oil for chicken marinade
2-3 coffee filters (to place fried jalapeno coins on)
1 large zip lock bag

Jalapeno coins:
1) place 1/2 cup flour in a shallow bowl
2) add paprika
3) add enough water to make a batter (slightly thinner than pancake batter)
4) place oil in a shallow pan...heat (medium)
5) throw all of the jalapenos in the batter and carefully place them in the oil...fry until golden brown (making sure you flip them after about 2 minutes)
6) put the fried 'coins' on coffee filters (I think coffee filters 'suck up' more oil than regular paper towels)
7) set aside

Chicken:
1) add Grill Mates chipotle pepper marinade, 1/4 cup water and 3 tbsp oil in a zip lock bag
2) place 2 chicken breasts in the bag...take the air out and 'massage' the marinade into the chicken...this will mix everything together
3) put the zip lock bag in the fridge and marinate for at least 3 hours (make sure you put the zip lock bag on a shallow plate or bowl, just in case it leaks-BLEK!)
4) after 3 (plus) hours either grill the chicken, bake it or pan fry chicken with a tiny bit of oil...once cooked, put chicken breasts in foil and let 'sit for about 15 minutes
5) cube chicken after 15 minutes

Salad:
1) in a large bowl add peppers, onions, black beans, cheese, tortilla strips, salad bag and ranch dressing...toss everything

Serving:
1) place tossed salad on a plate (divide equally not 2 or 3 plates)
2) add chicken
3) top with avocado
4) place jalapeno coins around the plate

SERVES 2-3

1 comment:

  1. Yum! This looks good. I make a version of this as well, but haven't tried the jalapeño coins. What a fun idea!

    ReplyDelete