Southwest Salad with Garlicky Cilantro Dressing

 I've seen this sort of recipe on Pinterest a couple of times, and I tried it myself. It is  pretty good....Normally when I make salads I stick with my balsamic vinaigrette recipe. It was nice to try and make my own creamy dressing. The problem is, by the second day the Pinterest recipe is WAAAAY too garlicky. Like scaring-the-vampires-away garlicky. So I have modified things here and there that should help you out. I have also added a couple of things to the salad itself that you may like.

(Sorry about the awkward date stamp....I couldn't figure out how to get my NEW CAMERA to  remove that.)


 Ingredients for dressing:

The bushy part of 1 bundle of cilantro (just chop off the stems)
6oz. container of Greek yogurt (full fat please!!)
1 medium--not massive--garlic clove
Juice of 1 lime
2 Tbsp. of apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup of olive oil
2 Tbsp. heavy cream---if you use the dressing the next day, you will most definitely need more cream because of the garlic flavor intensity

Ingredients for the salad:

1 container of fluffy baby greens or herb mix
1/3 cup of corn
1/3 cup of black beans
1/3 cup of grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1/4 cup of thinly sliced red onion
1-2 pre-cooked chicken breasts, shredded (for  the man in your life)
1/4 cup of shredded cheddar or cheddar jack cheese
1/2 a finely diced avocado (optional)
Crushed tortilla chips to serve (optional)


 To make the dressing: Put all of the ingredients up to the salt into a food processor. Blend for about 30 seconds until creamy. Next, with it stills running, drizzle in the olive oil. Taste it. Does it need salt? Add some more. Is it too garlicky? Add that heavy cream. Does it need more acid? Add some more vinegar...It all depends on how you want it to taste.Pour into a bowl or serving container.

To serve: get out a large--and I mean large--bowl and toss the leaves in. Sprinkle over all of your toppings (except the tortilla chips). Drizzle over about 1/ 3 cup of your dressing and toss the salad with tongs or two forks until fully coated. Taste it. If you want more dressing, add in a bit more and toss it again! Serve immediately with tortilla chips sprinkled over the top. Yum!