Chicken, Bacon, and Avocado Salad

Just because it's a salad doesn't mean it has to be bland and tasteless. Throw on some homemade dressing, crunchy bacon, and creamy cheese, and you've officially upped the ante on your salad. I wouldn't have it any other way. I love salads, the hubby and I have them quite often. Hey, when you bake as much me, you cut calories where you can as to enjoy said baked goods.

Some of you may be skeptical about the combination of bacon and raspberry vinaigrette. Don't be. I used to have such an aversion to the combination of fruit and meat. No pork chops and applesauce. No halibut with mango salsa. No cherry-mint sauce on my lamb. No way, no how. Today... not so much. Fruit and meat make the perfect combination. There's something about activating those sweet- then salty, savory tastebuds at the same time. It's magical. If you haven't jumped aboard this runaway train, I suggest making today the day.

Does anyone have anything fun planned for the weekend? I think the hubby and I are going to hunker down. We've still got about 3 inches of snow on the ground, which is packed hard and now ice. Snow is currently falling with more on the way tonight. And we've still got 3 or 4 Best Picture nominees to watch, not to mention trying to finish "12 Years A Slave". I also happened to make chicken broth this week, so I might make a hot, cozy batch of some sort of soup. Or maybe hot chocolate in the crock pot. Er, now I'm getting excited about cooking something and it's 8:16 am. Oh dear. The hubby's in for a long day :)

I hope everyone has fantastic, tasty, WARM weekend!

Ingredients:

Raspberry Vinaigrette (store leftovers in fridge up to 2 weeks)-
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup frozen raspberries, thawed
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp seedless raspberry jam
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp poppy seeds
1/4 tsp onion powder

Salad (serves 2)-
2 slices bacon, chopped
6 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
8 ounces cooked chicken breast, chopped
1/2 avocado, chopped
2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

Directions:

1. To prepare dressing- combine all ingredients in food processor. Pulse until completely smooth. Store in fridge until ready to serve.
2. To prepare salad- Render bacon in large, hot skillet. When browned, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. In a large bowl combine lettuce, chicken, avocado, blue cheese, and drained bacon. Drizzle with dressing to taste. Toss to combine. Divide salad among 2 plates, and serve immediately.

Raspberry Vinaigrette recipe adapted from Food.com