Cobb Salad

Salads - so refreshing and healthy.  I always keep mine on the healthy side by leaving the cheese off and keeping the dressing on the side (if at a restaurant) or making my own (if at home).

After trying many different salads from quite a few restaurants, I have determined that a cobb salad is my favorite.  I really can't put my finger on why the cobb is so enticing to me, but I am under its spell. 

Last night, I made my own cobb salad.  It is somewhat involved, but it is worth the labor. 

The ingredients:

***1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts - seasoned with salt and pepper on both sides and baked on a foil-lined cookie sheet in a 375 degree oven for 40-45 minutes.  If they are on the thicker side, you will need to bake them longer.  Once out of the oven, let them sit for 10 minutes.  Then cut each piece into chunks and place on a plate.  Let the chicken sit for an additional 10 minutes to get rid of some of the heat.  Cover the plate & refrigerate the chicken to cool it down.

***Hard-boiled eggs - place 8-9 eggs in a pot, cover with water and bring to a boil.  Once it is up to a boil, cover the pot and remove from the heat.  Let the eggs sit in the water for 8 minutes.  After that, drain the eggs in a colander and rinse with cold water.  Leave the eggs in the colander to cool a bit more.  Once they are cool enough to handle, peel the eggs and place each peeled egg back in the colander.  Rinse the peeled eggs in cold water to remove any leftover pieces of shell.  Dice each egg into your preferred size.  I know people have their own method of cooking hard-boiled eggs, and they can be quite fussy about it.  Do it your own way, if you please.  I was just typing out how I did mine.

***Turkey bacon - cook 7 pieces in a cast iron skillet according to package directions.  For me, it was place the bacon in the skillet, turn on the heat (medium) and cook to desired crispness.  Once they are done, place bacon on a paper towel to drain off any grease.  Cut the bacon in to 1/2" pieces. 

***Roma tomatoes - dice up two roma tomatoes and place in a bowl.

***Avocado - dice up two avocados and cover them in the juice of one lime.  I squeeze juice on as I cut up each 1/2, so you'll juice four times - stir each time.

***Mixed greens - 1 lb of mixed greens or your choice of green - spinach, arugula, romaine, iceberg, etc. 

***Dressing - as shocking as this may sound, I eat this salad "dry".  I think the juice from the chicken, tomatoes and any vegetables provide enough moisture to act as a dressing.  I save on calories and fat mainly because I think we get enough from the above ingredients, especially the eggs & bacon.  You could always squeeze over some lime or lemon juice or keep some of your favorite on the side and DIP each bite, rather than smother your otherwise healthy salad.  

I put everything out like a buffet for people to assemble their own salad.  The picture below was the cobb salad I assembled from the leftovers to take with me to work today.  :)

Let me know what you think!