Chicken Taco Salad

This salad was amazing! I was able to use some vegetables from our garden, some from the freezer and some from the store for this salad. It is a wonderful blend of flavors: tangy lime, spicy chile and melt in your mouth avocado. Very yummy and pretty quick to put together as long as you have some cooked leftover chicken available. In fact, the chicken filling would be delish in tacos too!

Chicken Taco Salad From Serving up the Harvest
2 T olive oil or canola oil
4 cups chopped, cooked chicken
1 onion, finely chopped
1 fresh green chile, seeded and finely chopped
4 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 cup unseasoned tomato sauce
salt and freshly ground pepper
10 cups chopped or torn lettuce
1-2 avocados, peeled and sliced
2-4 cups sliced or chopped vegetables such as carrots, corn, cucumbers, jicama, sweet onion or scallions, bell peppers, radishes or tomatoes
1/2 cup Lime Cilantro Vinaigrette (see following recipe)
tortilla chips
grated cheese, sour cream, heated refried beans, sliced black olives to garnish(optional)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, onion, chile, chili powder and cumin and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is soft and the chicken is slightly crispy, about 8 minutes. Add teh tomato sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm while you prepare the salad. Combine the lettuce, avocado and vegetables in a large bowl. Toss with the dressing. Serve the chicken over the lettuce mixture, garnishing with tortilla chips and any other toppings you desire.

Lime Cilantro Vinaigrette
1 tsp lime zest
2 T fresh lime juice (about 1 lime)
1 tsp white balsamic vinegar
5 T canola or grapeseed oil
2 T finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 T chopped fresh chives (I omitted since my chives were chopped up by my husband with the weed wacker)
salt
Combine the lime zest and juice and vinegar in a small bowl. Whisk in the oil until completely blended. Stir in the cilantro and chives. Season with salt. Use immediately.