Classic Midwest Chopped Salad

Recipe from Cristen Clark, Food & Swine

Classic Midwest Chopped Salad

Servings: 6

Ingredients

  • 6-8 cups chopped iceberg lettuce or a combination of iceberg and romaine lettuce
  • 6 green onions or one bunch, chopped
  • 1 ½ cups matchstick carrots
  • 1 ½ cups canned sweet corn kernels, drained
  • 2 cups diced deli ham
  • 8 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
  • 1 ½ cups thinly sliced yellow bell pepper
  • 1 ½ cups English cucumber, seeded and cut into 1” chunks
  • 1 ½ cups halved cherry tomatoes
  • ¾ cup mayonnaise
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ½ cup buttermilk (or regular milk) 1 large clove of garlic, minced and mashed
  • ¼ cup minced fresh parsley
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh chives
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon finely cracked pepper
  • ⅛ teaspoon paprika
  • Small pinch cayenne pepper
  • 6 hard boiled eggs, sliced, quartered or halved
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • ½ cup sunflower seed kernels
  • 1 ½ cups croutons

Ingredients

For the salad:

  • 6-8 cups chopped iceberg lettuce or a combination of iceberg and romaine lettuces
  • 6 green onions or one bunch, chopped
  • 1 ½ cups matchstick carrots
  • 1 ½ cups canned sweet corn kernels, drained
  • 2 cups diced deli ham
  • 8 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
  • 1 ½ cups thinly sliced yellow bell pepper
  • 1 ½ cups English cucumber, seeded and cut into 1” chunks
  • 1 ½ cups halved cherry tomatoes

Ingredients

For homemade ranch:

  • ¾ cup mayonnaise
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ½ cup buttermilk (or regular milk)
  • 1 large clove of garlic, minced and mashed
  • ¼ cup minced fresh parsley
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh chives
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon finely cracked pepper
  • ⅛ teaspoon paprika
  • Small pinch cayenne pepper

Ingredients

For the garnish:

  • 6 hard boiled eggs, sliced, quartered or halved
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • ½ cup sunflower seed kernels
  • 1 ½ cups croutons

Combine lettuces in a large serving bowl. Add onions, carrots, corn, ham, bacon, bell pepper, cucumber and tomatoes in clustered rows on top of greens. Leave room for hard boiled eggs, shredded cheese, sunflower seed kernels and croutons.

Whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream and buttermilk until smooth. Add garlic, parsley, chives, dill, sea salt, pepper, paprika and cayenne. Whisk until combined. Pour into serving container and refrigerate.

To serve: Add shredded cheese, sunflower seed kernels and croutons in clustered rows on top of salad. Dress salad lightly, toss all ingredients together gently until well toppings are well distributed. Dressing recipe is purposely generous and extra can be used for vegetable dipping or as a dipping sauce for chicken tenders or other items.

 

Nutrition

345 Calories, 14 g Carbohydrate, 26 g Fat, 5.5  g Saturated Fat, 18 g Protein, 1.5 g Fiber, 1025 mg Sodium