Easy Chopped Salad

Sissy and I recently spent the weekend together catching up, hanging out with our kids, and of course, cooking. In some ways, this was the ultimate test of our culinary/blogging skills.  For several days we had to combine her vegan cooking with my omnivore cooking. Let's just say it was not an easy task.  

A lot of people think that vegan cooking is nothing more than salads and raw veggies, which is far from the truth. I saw her making savory lentil dishes, beautiful breads and simple waffles. However, the weekend did culminate in a huge salad that we each customized to our needs. Vegans and omnivores alike will fill up on this chopped salad.  

Easy Chopped Salad
(feeds four adults as main course)

1/2 head Romaine lettuce, chopped

1/2 head radicchio lettuce, chopped

1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed

1 whole avocado, chopped (spritz with lemon or lime juice)

1 cup canned chickpeas, drained & rinsed

1 large or 2 small tomatoes, seeded & chopped

1 small cucumber, chopped (peel on or off)

For meat eaters:

1/2 lb of bacon (or about 2 strips per person)*

1/2 lb cooked chicken breasts, cubed

Dressing suggested:

Poppy Seed Dressing or Balsamic Vinaigrette

Place all ingredients (minus dressing) into large bowl and toss.  Portion out individually and apply dressing.  Serve immediately.  

Store any undressed leftovers in a sealed container.  It will last 1-2 days in the fridge.

Notes:

• There are one million changes/substitutions you could make to this salad, but we feel this is a good "base" to start with.  
• The radicchio added a peppery layer of flavor to contrast the romaine.
• We LOVE chickpeas and always have them on hand, but you could just as easily use canned black beans or cannellini beans.
• You could add zucchini, peas, cubed cheese, red onion, mushrooms, the list goes on. 
• Dressing can make or break this salad. It is made for a mild creamy dressing, such as poppy seed (Annie's makes a light Poppy Seed Dressing that is delicious) or green goddess.  Balsamic or an oil and red wine vinegar could work too. 
• The leftovers tasted better the next day!  

* I bake my bacon in the oven. Place bacon strips on a wire rack over a cookie sheet covered in foil (for easy clean-up) at 425 for 20 minutes.