Hello! Wow – a post!? I know, I know – it’s been ages since I last posted a recipe! *hehe* I apologize and thank you so much for your patience :) In July, I photographed 5 weddings and then attended my favourite annual festival – The Fringe Festival – where I attended a ton of fantastic plays. Photographing all of the weddings was a wonderful experience. I had a fantastic time getting to know the couples and photographing their specials days. But weddings are also a lot of work and editing photos can be very time consuming. And, in all honesty, the busy schedule in July really made me feel a bit lack-luster about cooking and keeping up with the blog. Sometimes it can be tough to feel inspired and motivated. Do you find that sometimes too? It’s funny, as I tried to do a bit of cooking throughout my busy schedule, but so many of the recipes I made were an absolute flop! I was starting to feel like I could only do one thing well and it had to be wedding photography in July! *haha*
Saturday, we had some friends and family over for a small BBQ. I decided to make a nice simple, yet delicious salad to share with everyone. This layered mexican salad is actually a recipe from my wonderful mom. She makes it from time-to-time and the whole family adores it. We fight over the leftovers! I find that using romaine lettuce allows for the salad to last up to a day without the romaine wilting. So it makes for a nice leftover lunch. Layering the salad in a large glass bowl allows for a very pretty presentation. And all of the ingredients combine make for an incredibly delicious, filling salad. Yum! This salad is perfect for picnics, BBQs and potlucks – especially since you can make it all ahead of time.
Hope you are all having a wonderful summer! I’ll be sure to post again before the week is over. I’m finally back in the kitchen…and not burning everything! *hehe*
Ingredients
- 2 avocados, peeled and diced
- 1 cup of fresh corn kernels
- juice of one lime
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1-15 ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained
- 8 cups of chopped romaine lettuce, well rinsed and dried
- half pint of grape tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 cup of pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- 1 cup of low-fat shredded cheddar cheese (or Daiya cheddar cheese shreds)
- your favourite oil + vinegar dressing (I use Newman's Own Oil + Vinegar)
Method
- In a small bowl, combine the diced avocado, fresh corn and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Approximately three hours before serving, layer the salad in a large glass serving bowl. Begin with half of the romaine lettuce, followed by half of the black beans, half of the shredded cheddar cheese, half of the corn/avocado mixture, half of the tomato, and a sprinkle of the pepitas. Repeat with a second layer of the ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Drizzle the salad with approximately 1/4 cup of your favourite oil and vinegar dressing about 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
Source: Mom
I was one of the people who attended the bbq. Not only was the conversation amazing but this salad was spectacular. I even got to take some home. I love the avocado in it. Courtney im typing this at 1am from scotts home…so I hope this makes sense. Love u.
The Fringe Festival for me sounds like a festival for fans of “Fringe” Tv series :) Obviously it’s not. I like wedding photography as well :) Your salad looks delicious!
I love this salad! Thanks for posting the recipe Court xo
My mom makes a layered salad like this too, but between you and me, I think yours looks better. ;) I am glad you’re back to blogging–I have totally had those stretches where recipes just don’t seem to work out and it’s the worst!
i’ve been so busy this summer, too, it’s been so hard to find time to photograph and post recipes. all the pics of the fringe festival looked so fun, i’m glad you were able to spend time away and enjoy it!
this salad/looks perfect to share at a party or to eat all by yourself. anything taco inspired is right up my alley!
Sounds like you’ve been super busy but it’s nice to see a new post from you! I’ve had a hard time getting recipes to work out too lately (plus I get super lazy in the summer and don’t cook many meals), but it sounds like it would be hard to go wrong with this delicious salad!
Glad to see you back, Courtney! Whenever we have small family get-togethers, we always tend to fall back on Mexican food for our meal – it’s easy to make and pleases everyone (vegetarians and non-vegetarians)! I love the combination of ingredients in this salad, and layering it makes it a bit more fun!
This salad looks so yummy! Thank you so much for sharing :)