Southwest Salad with Cilantro Dressing

I love Costa Vida's Sweet Pork Salads, but I'll be honest and say that my favorite part of the salad is the dressing. When I came across the idea to use the cilantro dressing on top of a regular chopped salad - I knew that I needed to try it. This recipe is so much easier to prepare than the sweet pork salad, and it was a nice refreshing meal. I think adding some grilled chicken would be yummy if you wanted to add a little meat to the dish.

Southwest Salad with Cilantro Dressing

Ingredients:
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 can sweet corn OR 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 roma tomatoe, diced
1 green onion, chopped
1 avocado, diced
1 head lettuce, chopped (Romaine is better, all we had was iceburg at the time)

Directions:
Finely chop lettuce, bell pepper, tomatoes, green onions. Dice avocado. Drain and rinse corn and black beans. Place lettuce on a plate, add toppings, cover with creamy cilantro-lime dressing. (I just used leftover dressing, but the recipe is below.)

**When I made this, I was about 9 weeks pregnant and chicken seemed like the yuckiest food on the face of the planet. However, now that I'm 15 weeks and like meat again I think that some grilled chicken would be great on this. I also think that crunching up some tortilla chips would be a yummy addition. Also, David doesn't really like the cilantro dressing - so I got some cubed ham and turkey for his salad and topped everything with ranch dressing.  It's pretty flexible. 

Tomatillo/Cilantro Ranch Dressing
Source: Adapted from A Mommy's Life with a Touch of Yellow

Ingredients:
1 packet of buttermilk ranch dressing
1 Cup mayo/Miracle Whip
1 Cup buttermilk (the smallest carton is perfect)
1 bunch of cilantro (after you wash, make sure you pat dry)
2 tomatillos husked
1 jalapeno (take the rib and seeds out)
Garlic powder (just a few shakes)
juice from 1 lime

Directions:
Put the mayo, dressing mix, buttermilk, and garlic in a blender and mix until blended all together. Squeeze lime juice directly into the blender. Cut up tomatillos, jalapeno, cilantro and pat dry. Add to the blender and blend until everything is mixed together and creamy. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. This can be stored in the fridge for several months - so don't throw your leftovers away. If it starts to separate - just shake it all back together.