Southwest Cobb Salad with Quesadillas and Avocado Ranch Dressing

One of JJ’s favorite restaurants is Chilis. He loves their Cobb salad and their Quesadilla Explosion salads, so for dinner tonight I combined the two salads. I’m not exactly sure what’s in theirs because we haven’t been in a while, but I just thought of what would be the tex mex version of the ingredients in a cobb salad. For the quesadillas, I just used peppers, onions, cheese and salsa, very basic. I used a jalapeno from my garden in this dinner, my first harvest!

I hope you enjoy this fresh summer salad!

Southwest Cobb Salad:

1 head of romaine lettuce, chopped

½ avocado, diced

3 tomatoes, seeded and diced

½ jalapeno, minced

¼ red onion, minced

1 tbsp. cilantro, minced

1 chicken breast, sliced (I used a Morningstar Farms Chik'n patty)

¼ c. shredded cheddar cheese

3 slices bacon, crumbled (optional, but traditional)

½ c. grilled or roasted corn

Avocado Ranch Dressing:

½ avocado, diced

¼ c. light sour cream

3 tbsp. buttermilk

1 tbsp. hidden valley ranch seasoning

Quesadillas:

1 roasted red pepper, peeled and sliced

½ c. Monterey jack cheese

½ jalapeno, roasted, peeled and sliced

½ red onion, sliced

½ c. prepared salsa (TJ’s Pineapple Salsa)

Turn skillet on medium, spray with nonstick spray, and add quesadillas. Top with peppers, onions, cheese, and salsa. Brown on first side, about 5 minutes, flip and brown on the other.

Mix all dressing ingredients in a blender, set aside.

Mix chopped onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and jalapeno in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper, set aside.

Arrange salad components in rows over the lettuce, top with dressing and stick quesadilla wedges around the sides.