September 7

This is totally one of my favorite salads to make and eat. We had the McLean's over for dinner tonight and this is one of the things I made. I also made chicken cacciatore over brown rice and roasted cauliflower. (I learned all of these wonderful dishes from Katie.) Julie asked me how I had been losing weight and expressed interest in the weight watcher program when I explained it to her, so we had them over for a weight watcher's dinner. We had so much fun with them! Brother McLean played rock band with Nick and sister McLean hung out with Becca and me.

Here is the recipe for this salad:

Santa Fe Salad with Chili-Lime Dressing (Mix and Match Recipe)

light meals
POINTS® Value: 2 Servings: 8 Preparation Time: 25 min Cooking Time: 0 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients
6 Tbsp reduced-calorie mayonnaise
3 Tbsp cilantro, fresh, finely chopped (I use more because it is so good!)
3 Tbsp water
1 medium scallion(s), minced
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lime juice (I use more because I like it.)
2 tsp sugar (I use a sugar substitute)
1/2 tsp chili powder
15 oz canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cup cooked corn kernels, fresh or frozen
2 cup grape tomatoes
1 medium sweet red pepper(s), cut into thin strips (about 1 1/2 cups) (You can also used any colored sweet peppers. It makes the salad so pretty!)
8 cup romaine lettuce, cut into thick shreds (about 2 hearts)

Instructions:

To make dressing, whisk together mayonnaise, cilantro, water, scallion, lime juice, sugar and chili powder in a small bowl until smooth. Transfer to a jar or a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate until ready to use.
In a large bowl or food storage container, layer remaining ingredients in order listed. Cover and refrigerate.
To serve, spoon salad ingredients into a bowl. Shake dressing and then drizzle dressing over salad; toss well to coat. Yields about 2 cups of salad and 1 1/2 tablespoons of dressing per serving.