{avocado salad}

Here’s my latest, Pinterest inspired recipe! Can you believe that Paula Dean, the Queen of Butter, actually has a recipe that does not involve butter? I was shocked! Let me tell you…it was gooo-oood (cue Cousin Eddie voice from Christmas Vacation, one of the best movie characters of all time).

I made this while the hubby was down under hanging out with the roos, so I adjusted the quantity to more of a personal sized salad for little old me. Here’s what you’ll need to make Paula Dean’s Southwestern Avocado and Black Bean Salad:

1/2 cup freshly chopped cilantro leaves (you can skip these if you find cilantro disgusting)
1/4 cup EVOO
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (I used one of those plastic limes with the juice already squeezed)
2 or 3 dashes hot sauce (Franks!)
4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
2 avocados, peeled and diced
2 cups summer crisp corn
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
About 3/4 cup (3-ounces) grated pepper jack cheese
1/4 cup red onion, diced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

I forgot to take a picture of all the pretty ingredients before hand, you get the idea though!

To make the dressing, whisk together in a small bowl the cilantro, EVOO, lime juice, and hot sauce, like so…

Next, add all remaining ingredients to a large salad bowl (or in my case, a small salad bowl)…

Aren’t the colors b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l!?

Drizzle the dressing on top and toss everything together until you get something that looks like this…

Let me tell you, not only was this salad delicious it was surprisingly filling. I’m not usually a salad-as-my-main-dish-kinda-girl, but this one was perfect. I think it would also taste great with some grilled chicken or shrimp and maybe even some fresh croutons for a bit of a crunch.

Thanks Mrs. Paula for your great, non-butter, recipe!