Wow! It’s been forever since I last posted a recipe! In my defence, I was in Orange County last week visiting family (boy, was that a nice change of pace!) I feel very fortunate to have family close by when i’m 3000 miles from “home,” and it was amazing to catch up with cousins that I hadn’t seen in over 15 years! I also spent the weekend with my Fiancé and another couple at a house we rented with a big group of friends in Lake Tahoe. All in all I had a fantastic week, but unfortunately neglected my loyal foodies … BUT I’m about to make that up to you know with an AHMAZING salad I whipped together tonight!

If you’re one of those people who hates eating salads for dinner (I mean, I get it, it feels way to lunchie right?) I promise you will change your mind after trying this gem. My fiancé loved loved loooved it, and although he’s not a picky eater, he doesn’t exactly jump for joy when he hears that there’s a salad on the dinner menu for the week. But, alas, I made this salad hearty enough that it left us both feeling full and satisfied!

It’s a very flexible salad that you can adjust to fit your families preferences, so feel free to add whatever veggies you have on hand! I would love to hear what combo you try, so if you’re changing it up a bit, let me know in the comment section below…

Oh and as a side note, I didn’t think I would post this recipe on my blog until I tried it, so if you’re wondering why I only have 1 picture of something I’m declaring to be a masterpiece of a salad, now you know why!

Serves 2-3 for dinner portion

Ingredients

2 romain hearts, chopped

1 medium tomato, diced

1/4 red onion, diced

10 baby carrots, sliced thin

1/3 cucumber, diced

1/2 avocado, diced

1 cup chickpeas, roasted (direction bellow) (I used organic seasoned w/ sea salt from TJ’s)

1 cup cooked chicken, diced

Balsamic-dijon dressing: recipe will also be in dressing category

2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp. hot mustard

1/2 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 lemon, juiced

1 clove garlic, chopped thin

salt&pepper to taste

Directions:

For the chickpeas: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drain chickpeas and rinse under cold water, pat dry and add to baking pan. Spray lightly with olive oil and bake for 30-40 minutes or until crunchy. Note: If you don’t have 40 minutes, you can just put in the chickpeas after rinsing, I just prefer them to be crunchy.

For the dressing: combine all ingredients in bowl and whisk (you could also put into a food processor, but bah, not necessary)

Assembling the salad: add the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, onion and carrots in a large bowl, portion out desired amount onto plates and drizzle with 2 tbsp of dressing (If you are serving 3 people you can just add dressing to the big bowl and toss to combine, then plate it). Top each plate with the diced avocado, roasted chickpeas and diced chicken. Drizzle about 1/2 tbsp more dressing on top of the chicken and serve.

Enjoy! If you have any comments or questions feel free to use the section below – I’d love to hear from you!

Kristen ❤