A Cool Summer Salad for Those Hot Summer Days

Yesterday, Denver tied a record for our area, with a temperature of 105*F.  WOW!!!!  That is hot, hot, hot.  There have only been three other times since 1898 that we have reached temperatures this hot in the Denver area.  If the temperature had been only one degree hotter, we would have broken that record and set a new one.  When it is this hot, I am not going to lie, I do not want to be cooking over a hot stove.  I want something cool and refreshing and easy-peasy.

When the mercury is rising and the temperatures soar, this is the best place to be.  Besides cooking and writing for my blog, I am also an aqua aerobics instructor and a swim coach.  So this is my office.   I also swim with the Masters.  I am trying my best to get back into the competitive mode after my injuries, but so far, I am still very much a work in progress.  I am also an avid scuba diver/rescue diver, and I dive anywhere and anytime I can.  When I am not in the kitchen, I am in the water.   This is my M-W-F Mermaid Club.  These beautiful ladies are all so much fun to work with.  I get paid to play.  I love it.  I am the one directly in front of the lady with the yellow hat.  But I am distracted …… Back to food.

 

When the thermometer outside reads this ….

This is what you eat ….

This cool, refreshing Tex-Mex salad was perfect for the sizzling temperatures outside.

Tex-Mex Salad

lettuce – I used red leaf, but you can use whatever lettuce you like

red onions, sliced very thin

cowboy beans (you have seen this recipe before on an earlier blog post)

corn

cucumbers, sliced thin

tomatoes – whatever kind you like, or you can mix and match, using different kinds of tomatoes

chicken, cooked – I used some of our left over smoked chicken

cheese – you choice (optional)

avocado

green onions, sliced thin

choice of dressing – my husband used A Catalina dressing and I had my salad with a chili lime dressing

I layered my salad and I tied to list the ingredients in the order I layered them, but it really does not matter at all.  What matters is the taste.  This salad is full of color and different textures and is very, very tasty.  Enjoy and try to stay cool in these dog days of summer.