Chopped Cobb Salad with Blue Cheese

Chopped Cobb Salad with Blue Cheese puts crumbled blue cheese, extra-virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar at the center of a chicken recipe and finishes in about 23 minutes, enough for 6 servings.

• Yield 6 servings
• Ready in 23 minutes
• Prep 15 minutes
• Cook 8 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper
• 8 slices bacon (chopped)
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1/2-inch pieces)
• 3 romaine hearts (chopped)
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes (halved)
• 2 medium ripe avocados (pitted, skinned and chopped)
• 3 hard-boiled eggs (peeled and quartered)

Instructions

1. Process 1/2 cup cheese, oil, vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a food processor until well combined. (This step is only if you want to use the blue cheese dressing – omit this step if you are going to use your favorite salad dressing.)
2. Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate and pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Cook chicken in bacon fat until golden brown and cooked through, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to plate and let cool 5 minutes.
3. Combine lettuce, tomatoes, remaining cheese, cooled chicken, and dressing in large bowl. Top salad with crisp bacon, avocados, and eggs. Serve.

Dress it just before it goes to the table so the leaves stay crisp.