Grilled Chicken & BLTA Salad with Avocado Ranch

I have always loved bacon. There is no better smell to wake up to in the morning and it is a Sunday staple along with honey buns and strawberries every Sunday morning at camp. This summer, my love for bacon has dwindled, said no one ever!  I have however, been working on my salads this summer and came up with this one in my head a few weeks ago, a BLT salad with grilled chicken. And since I am currently obsessed with avocado and bacon and avocado would BFFs in life, I knew the avocado was a must. Now, if you know me, you know I am not a salad dressing kind of girl, but my favorite boyfriend is. This led me to concur to that an avocado ranch salad dressing would pair nicely with my BLTA AND it is possible to make a healthy version as I did! Now, I did use 6 pieces of bacon for the 2 of us, but we are bacon lovers in this house. I recommend you don't skimp on the bacon as it is the first letter in BLTA, which means there should be more bacon than anything else . . . . right?

Grilled Chicken & BLTA Salad with Avocado Ranch

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, grilled and sliced (we love the HEB grilled strips in the freezer aisle)

6 slices thick cut bacon*, cooked and drained

1 large head romaine or any other lettuce/mix you love

2 Hass avocados

1/2 cup grape tomatoes

2 oz fat-free sour cream

1/4 packet ranch mix

1 tbsp milk

hard boiled egg, optional

Directions:

1. Boil eggs and cook bacon until crisp. Set bacon aside to drain and place cooked egg in ice water.

2. Heat chicken in skillet while you wash and chop the lettuce. Top lettuce with tomatoes and one sliced avocado.

3. Roughly chop the bacon and add to salad along with chicken and hard boiled egg.

4. Dressing: process remaining avocado, ranch mix, sour cream, and milk until smooth.

I served this hearty salad with grilled corn on the cob for a perfect summer dinner!

 *  A side note about this bacon: we have a family tradition of purchasing those bright red weenies from the Taylor Meat Market in Taylor, Texas that is located just Northeast of Austin. On my last trip, I picked up a pound of bacon on a whim. OMG! This was the bacon I used in the salad tonight and could eat three meals a day plus snacks in between (it's low-carb right . . . . ?). I highly recommend picking up bacon from your local meat market for this salad! And if you are ever near Taylor, Texas, stop by the Taylor Meat Market located at Hwy 79 and Hwy 79 Business for some Taylor Weenies and bacon!