Chicken and Roasted Corn Salad with Bacon and Honey Mustard Ranch Dressing

Another salad. I know. But who isn’t looking for exciting new salad recipes this time of year? I know I am always on the look out for new salads that are filling and delicious. Before we talk salad, let’s talk summer. Is everyone summered out yet? Or are you just getting into your groove? My kids have only/already been out of school for a month. Some days it feels like it’s been many months since summer started, other days it feels like summer is too short and almost over! I am thoroughly enjoying the fact that my kids are older, therefore more independent. It makes going to the beach easier, or going on walks. No one has to be pushed in a stroller, no one has to be carried and they are capable of playing on their own without being monitored 24/7. Well, my youngest I check on a lot more often than my older two. But still, having reached a level of comfort and ease with the kids reduces my stress drastically! I dared to venture to New Hampshire to visit my best friend from high school without the hubs since he was working, but with the kiddos. My friend being a natural with kiddos made the trip a lot less stressful and way more fun! If you follow me on instagram, you’ll see a few quick glimpses of our trip. So much darn fun.

Okay, enough summer talk, let’s move on to this KILLER salad. Yes, it’s well worth the caps. This is like your same old summer salad, but on steroids. We have fresh corn, avocado, bacon AND spice-rubbed chicken. If you’re really adventurous, you can even add some hard-boiled eggs to make it a killer cobb salad. Oh, and because who can decide between ranch or honey mustard dressing- they are combined! At first I thought that would be really weird, but oh my lanta. It is SO good. Like you’ll never want to make another salad dressing good. This salad is great because you can grill the chicken and corn if your house is a million degrees, or you can cook them in the oven. I am not a great griller, so I tend to turn to the oven which I am very familiar with and have better results with (most of the time). This is also a great salad you can make ahead of time, just add the avocados before serving, unless you don’t mind brown avocados. I was pretty excited to have this for a week of leftovers when it was leftover from dinner. Make your week of lunches, or make a killer dinner that doesn’t need anything else. I didn’t even serve this with bread- gasp! (I almost always make some bread or biscuits to go with a salad, just because.) Up your salad game with this recipe and you’ll be so happy you did.

Recipe adapted from Cravings

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Chicken and Roasted Corn Salad with Bacon and Honey Mustard Ranch Dressing

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 8 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 53 minutes

The ultimate satisfying and filling salad. It has all the flavors and textures with fresh tomatoes, crunchy bacon, grilled chicken and corn, creamy avocado and crisp greens. For the finishing touches- honey mustard + ranch dressing. Absolute perfection.

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Ingredients

For the chicken

• 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• olive oil
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied

For the salad

• 3 hearts of romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1-2 avocados, cubed
• 10 slices bacon
• 4 ears fresh corn, shucked and kernels cut from cob*

For the dressing

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

1. To bake the chicken, preheat the oven to 350ºF*. Line a baking sheet with foil and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the paprika, salt, pepper, cumin, thyme, cayenne pepper. Place the chicken on the prepared baking sheet and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Rub the spice mixture over the chicken, on all sides. Place in the preheated oven and cook until the internal temperature reaches 190ºF on an instant-read thermometer, 15-20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, line another baking sheet with foil and place the uncooked bacon on the sheet, making sure they don’t overlap each other. Set aside.
4. In a large skillet over medium heat-high heat, stir the corn kernels into the pan. Cook, stirring often until the corn is a light golden brown. Set aside.
5. Once the chicken has cooked through, remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Once cool, chop or slice into bite sized pieces.
6. Increase the oven to 375ºF. Place the prepared bacon into the oven and cook until crispy and cooked through, 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly. Once cool enough to handle, place on a cutting board and chop into bite sized pieces.
7. To make the dressing, whisk together all the ingredients in a glass measuring cup or in a mason jar.
8. To serve the salad, place the lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, chicken, corn, and bacon in a large serving bowl, or in individual serving bowls. Drizzle with the dressing and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Notes

*If grilling the chicken and corn, prepare the chicken as directed, and place directly on the grill that has been preheated. Cook the chicken and until completely cooked through. To grill the corn, peel back the outer layers, making sure not to tear off the husk. Remove the silky hairs then wrap the corn back up with its husk and place directly on the grill. Turn occasionally and grill until the corn is golden brown. Remove from the grill then cut the kernels off the cob.

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