Salad with Black beans & Corn and Citrus Blasamic Vinaigrette

Blogging Marathon# 38: Week 1/ Day 2
Theme: Soup or Salad with Sides 
Dish: Salad with Black beans & Corn with Cheese Quesadilla

For Day 2 of BM# 38, I have a simple salad served with cheese quesadilla. This salad is inspired from a dish that is on Chili's menu -- Quesadilla explosion Salad. We were at Chili's couple of weeks ago and saw it on the menu, though I didn't order it. Not sure if I already told you, I don't order salads when we go out. I feel like I have to eat actual food and not salads at restaurants. In my mind, I think I can make salads at home and don't want to spend money on a salad at a sit down restaurant.

Well anyway, coming back to the Quesadilla explosion salad; I googled for the recipe and found that it is one of the unhealthiest salads served at a restaurant. It has a full day worth of salt and ¾of the day's worth calories. It made me feel even better because you would think ordering salad is a good thing -- but apparently it's not such a good thing afterall.

So when I decided to make the salad at home, I wanted to make it healthier than the original version. One of the perks of cooking at home is that you can control the salt and the quality of ingredients. This salad is quite colorful with the addition of various veggies and beans. It is quite tasty too with all the delicious veggies dressed with the citrus vinaigrette.

Chilis serves the salad topped with grilled chicken. I had some Gardein vegan chick'n in the freezer that I used in the salad. You can skip it or replace it with other vegetarian protein.

Ingredients: Serves 2~3

For the Salad:
Greens - 4~5 cups (I used baby spinach & chopped lettuce)
Black Beans - 1cup (if using canned, make sure to rinse and drain them)
Corn - 1cup (fresh or frozen)
Tomato - 2 mediu, deseeded and diced
Cheese - as needed (optional)
Chick'n - (optional)

For Citrus Blasamic Vinaigrette: Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit
Shallot - 1 small, finely chopped
Olive Oil - ½cup
White Wine Vinegar - 2tbsp
Lemon juice - 2tbsp
Orange Juice - 1tbsp
Lemon zest - ¼tsp
Salt & Pepper - to taste

Method: 

• Make the Citrus-Balsamic Vinaigrette: Combine all the ingredients in a small jar and shake it very well to combine all the ingredients. Store it in the fridge for up to 1 week.
• If using vegan chick'n, then cook according to package directions and keep ready.
• For the Salad: Layer all the ingredients for the salad in a bowl, add the vinaigrette and serve immediately.

 I served the salad with simple cheese quesadilla.

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 38.