Laura's Salad

My family went out to eat maybe a handful of times every year, so eating out was a BIG deal for my brothers and I. The "almost never" trip to every kids favorite, McDonalds, was particularly special. So what did I order, you ask? Not a Happy Meal, if that's what you were assuming. I ordered....(drum roll please!!)....a chef salad. Yep...a salad...My parents thought there was something wrong with me, and would triple and quadruple check to make sure that's what I really wanted before placing my order. I was as happy as a clam with my salad, while my brothers ate chicken nuggets and cheeseburgers. I do, and always have, love salad.

About a year and a half ago we had some friends over for dinner, and decided to make it a pot luck style meal. Our friends, Laura and Doug, brought the salad. I found myself only wanting to eat salad, instead of whatever else was being served. I decided to get the recipe, and add chicken and bacon to make it into a meal. I would easily order this salad in a restaurant, it is that good!!


What you'll need:

-Package of butter lettuce
-Chicken (I cut corners and use the Just Chicken from Trader Joe's, in regular or teriyaki)
-Bacon cooked and chopped up (as much as you'd like...after all, bacon makes everything better =)
-Candied walnuts, chopped
-Green apple, sliced into bite sized pieces
-Blue cheese (optional, I don't use it)
-1/2 cup of Mayo
-1/4 cup of Extra virgin olive oil
-1/4 cup of white vinegar
-1-2 cloves of chopped garlic
-Salt and pepper, pinch of each


Whisk together the mayo, extra virgin olive oil, white vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Your dressing is done.

Place desired amount of lettuce onto a plate or bowl,  drizzle salad dressing over the lettuce, top with the desired amount of chicken, bacon, apple, and walnuts.

And you're done...easy, right?