Chicken and Bacon Chopped Salad with Avocado Garlic Jalapeno Dressing

Like an earworm playing the bars of a song over and over, ideas too get stuck in your head, repeating themselves until you are either driven mad or you are finally forced to act upon them.

Like when you get it in your head that you need some sneakers. And not the kind that are useful for athletics. But the Keds kind, emblazoned proudly with stars. Basically, shoes that a seven year old would wear. These will complete your life.

Or when your best friend starts going on about doughnuts and how it is really sad that there aren't Dunkin Donuts near you, or any other doughnut establishment for that matter. I should note that there was a delicious one in town. Then it closed and my doughnut supply dried up. And after this conversation with your best friend you absolutely cannot stop thinking about doughnuts and so you find yourself in line at the grocery store with a dozen donuts from the bakery section and you know in your heart of hearts that these will not actually be good but you physically are unable to force yourself to put the box down.

And so it is with this chopped salad. Or... I suppose it is a chopped salad.  I'm actually quite unsure on what exactly makes something a chopped salad, but I must have heard the term and it just burrowed into my thoughts until I couldn't stand it any more. I decided to interpret the chopped salad as a salad with some heft, not leafy greens with a vinaigrette.  A substantial and filling salad.  A salad full of romaine lettuce and chicken and bacon and hard boiled eggs with an avocado and garlic buttermilk dressing.  And now I'm unable to get the salad out of my thoughts.




Ingredients
For the salad:
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
handful cherry tomatoes
sliced purple or red bell pepper
1 avocado, peeled and pitted, diced
4 cooked bacon strips, crumbled
1/2 pound of cooked chicken breast, sliced *
3 hard boiled eggs, sliced
3 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 cup julienned jicama

For the dressing:
2 small avocados, peeled and pitted
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon lime zest
juice from 2 small limes
4 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons minced jalapeno
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions
To cook the chicken, I sprinkled both sides of the chicken with garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.  Place in cast iron skillet with cooking oil (I actually used the bacon fat) and put flame on high. Add the chicken pieces.  Brown one side then flip.

In a big bowl, toss together romaine, tomatoes, bell pepper slices, avocado, bacon, chicken, eggs, celery and jicama.

For the dressing: Place all ingredients in a bowl and blend with an immersion blender until creamy.

Pour desired amount of dressing over the salad and toss to coat.