Guacamole Chip Chicken Taco Salad
I love good tortilla chips. There’s something about the crunch and flavor that gets me thinking about different ways to utilize them in recipes, and not just as vessels for salsa and guacamole.
Food Should Taste Good (FSTG) makes just this sort of chip. All of their products are non-GMO and they’re made with good quality ingredients, providing a sophisticated taste. When I got a hold of their Guacamole Chips (made with cilantro, avocado and serrano peppers), I knew just what to do to really pump up the flavor of some chicken I had around the house and with the addition of just a few more ingredients, voila. Here is my recipe for Guacamole Chip Chicken Taco Salad. It’s cool, crunchy and really yummy. Now that grilling season is here, this salad is just perfect for a backyard get-together. Enjoy paired with my classic Desert Margarita!
- 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 3/4 cup (about ½ bag) FSTG guacamole chips, crushed
- 1 egg
- 1 tb. unsalted butter
- 1 tb coconut oil
- 2 ears of corn, shucked
- drizzle of olive oil
- 1 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 head red leaf lettuce
- cilantro, handful of leaves
- black olives sliced
- cherry tomatoes cut in ½
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 3 green onions, diced
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup salsa of choice (I use my homemade green tomato salsa)
- Shuck the ears of corn and drizzle with olive oil. Heat your grill on high – I like it about 500 degrees F. Place the corn on the grill until it starts to pop (and it will be blackened). Turn the ears over and turn grill down to medium. Grill corn for about more 10 minutes. The second side won’t get as blackened as the first and shouldn’t pop. Set aside to cool.
- In a medium sauté pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat and add in the minced garlic. Sauté until garlic softens, but doesn’t burn. Add in the black beans and stir, sauté until heated thru. Mix in seasonings and set aside.
- Once the corn has cooled enough to handle, cut the kernels from the cob. Mix the corn into the black bean mixture and set aside to cool until ready to use.
- Mix the sour cream and salsa together and set aside.
- Put the chicken breasts on a cutting board and cover with plastic wrap and then using a meat mallet pound the chicken breasts out so that they are of one thickness.
- Mix the parmesan and crushed chips in a shallow bowl together. In another shallow bowl beat the egg.
- Heat a fry pan over medium heat and melt the 1/2 tablespoon of butter and 1/2 a tablespoon of coconut oil.
- Dredge the chicken breast first through the egg and then through the Parmesan and chip mixture. Coat the entire breast with the chips and Parmesan.
- Place in the fry pan and cook for 4 minutes per side. Turn the heat down if it starts to burn. Keep warm in a low oven while you fry the second chicken breast.
- Place 1 full or a 1/2 chicken breast per plate depending on appetite.
- Top the chicken breast with a few spoonfuls of the corn and black bean mixture.
- Toss enough leaf lettuce per person with dressing to coat. One head of lettuce is enough for four people. Layer some of the salad on top of each chicken breast and garnish with olives, green onions, cherry tomatoes and avocado.
- Serve with the remainder of the bag of chips and enjoy!
