BBQ Chicken and Ranch Salad

Have you eaten at the Cheesecake Factory? If you haven't you should! I love their whole menu. Their BBQ Chicken Ranch salad is my favorite from the salad section of the menu. The portion sizes are ginormous too! (even the lunch size)

However, we always have to wait to get a table unless we get there at a random hour. With two little kids in tow waiting more than 15 min just doesn't always work. So I decided I'm going to start making this salad at home. 

Homemade BBQ Chicken Ranch Salad:

1boneless skinless chicken breast

3 handfuls Frozen corn (this is a unit of measure)

1 can of Black Beans

1/2 Avocado

Bag of your favorite lettuce. (We use a 50/50 mix)

Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese

Ranch

Favorite BBQ sauce

All purpose seasoning

At the Cheesecake Factory you also get:

Cucumber

Fried Onion Rings

Tomatoes

Start with a good size chicken breast and sprinkle your favorite all purpose seasoning on both sides. I'm currently loving Rudy's Turkey Rub that hubs brought home from Austin, TX. (I like to foil the pan so I have less to clean up.)

Pour your favorite BBQ sauce on top of the chick and bake it at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes depending on how thick your chicken is. About halfway through I always add extra sauce.

Much easier clean up with the foil.

After it's cooled dice up the chicken into chunks. I will sometimes cook the chicken much earlier in the day if we have a lot going on to make it easier.

Cook three handfuls of corn with a little butter and warm some black beans on both on the stove top. Then slice your avocado.

Now all the toppings are ready I go ahead and take my washed and dried lettuce in a bowl and pre-toss it with my favorite ranch dressing.

Then assemble your salad! Hubs doesn't like avocado so I get to eat it all. 

Don't forget to grate the Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese on top!

Doesn't that just look delicious!

One of the perks of this meal is the leftovers (if there are any). I like to stretch foods into other meals. Sometimes I'll make the chicken for dinner the day before and use the extra chicken for the salad or the day after use the black beans, corn and avocado in burritos. 

Hope you enjoy!

Bon Appétit!