Baja Chopped Salad with Creamy Cilantro Dressing

Baja Chopped Salad

8 oz – Baked Chicken, Chopped (A Rotisserie from the supermarket works just fine)
¼ Cup – Haas Avocado, Cubed
¼ Cup – Black Beans (Fiesta Black Beans or Garbanzo Beans work well too)
1 – Scallion, chopped on a diagonal
¾ Cup – Tomato, Chopped
½ Cup – Olives, Halved (you can use Black, Kalamata or Green or a combination)
¼ to ½ Cup – Cheddar Cheese, Grated
Cilantro, To Taste (I use quite a bit…as I really love this herb)
1 Bunch – Romaine Lettuce, Torn (If I have some Arugula on hand I also add some of that)
Tortilla Strips (for garnish)

Creamy Cilantro Dressing – To Taste

Mix all ingredients except the tortilla strips in a bowl with about ½ Cup of the dressing. Garnish with the tortilla strips. I often put more dressing on the table if folks want more – but so far they just munch it up! But if you were to serve it to someone that really likes their salad drenched in dressing, they may want more. It is important to toss the dressing in with the salad, prior to serving. Or at least – I think so!

Creamy Cilantro Dressing    

1 packet – Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix
1 Cup – Mayonnaise
1/3 Cup - Buttermilk
1 – Lime, Zest & Juice
2 Cloves – Garlic, Roughly Chopped
½ Cup – Cilantro, Roughly Chopped
¼ Cup – Green Salsa, Medium to Hot (depending on your taste and tolerance)
3 or 4 Dashes – Hot Sauce (High Quality Sauce and more dashes if you like it really hot!)

Combine buttermilk, mayo, and ranch mix in a blender, just until mixed. Zest the lime and then squeeze the juice into the blender. **Note if the lime is not very juicy – then add the juice of a second one**. Add the garlic, cilantro, green salsa and hot sauce. Blend very well. Once well-blended taste and add more hot sauce if necessary. If the idea of the hot sauce scares you – then you should wait until after you have blended everything else before adding.


Pour into a bowl (or other container) and cool in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour before using.
***This also makes a wonderful Vegetable and/or Chip Dip for parties! ***

New England Guacamole

A friend of mine in New England gave me this basic recipe when I was a young man and I was only familiar with Southern Cooking. It is one of my "go-to" recipes that I use often. You will see other recipes for various Guacamoles (over time) on this blog. But I wanted to share this one as it is simple and delicious and very easy to make (well, with the exception of peeling the tomatoes).

 Let me give you a heads up on the peeling process. Blanch the tomatoes in a pot of boiling water and submerge the tomatoes in for just a minute or so – as soon as you see the skin look a bit wilted. Take them out and plunge them into ice water – this will stop them from cooking. The skin will come right off and leave you with a nice skinless tomato. Be careful not to keep them in the boiling water too long!

 This would be a great recipe that I could make for my Mom…but I am not sure if I could get her to eat it. She is southern and quite picky…but since she can't eat tomatoes with the skin on them, it would be easily incorporated. Maybe next time I am home, I will see if I can get her to eat it…Wish me Luck!

 New England Guacamole

1 – Medium Tomato, Peeled
1 – Ripe Haas Avocados
¼ Cup – Onion, Finely Chopped
2 Tbsp – Canned Chili Peppers, Chopped
1 ½ Tsp – White Vinegar
1 Tsp – Salt
¼ Tsp – Pepper

Crush the tomato with a potato masher. Slice avocados & crush into the mixture. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Refrigerate for at least ½ hour prior to serving. When storing in the refrigerator, place plastic wrap (i.e. Saran) over container and make sure that the plastic is completely covering and touching the mixture. This will help it to keep the bright green color.

If you want to make more than this rends, just double or triple and it works quite nicely!

Mexican Pork Tenderloin with Salsa Verde & Avocado Salad

I have wanted to make a Salsa Verde for quite some time and I had a 1.7 lb Pork Tenderloin in the fridge – so I decided to make a light "south of the border" style meal. This is what I came up with! 

Salsa Verde

10 to 12 Tomatillos – husk removed
2 Cloves – Garlic
½ – Medium Onion, chopped
1 – Cup Cilantro, lightly packed
1 - Small Italian Pepper (or just use half of a large one)
½ - Jalapeño, seeded
1 Tbsp – Olive Oil
1 Packet – Con Culantro Y Achiote Seasoning (Sazon Goya)
½ Tsp – Cumin
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Boil the tomatillos in a large sauce pan or pot for 7 to 10 minutes. You want them soft but not overcooked. Drain and submerge in cold water to stop the cooking process and to allow cooling faster. Once they are cool enough to handle, cut into quarters. Place in a food processor along with the garlic, onion, cilantro, jalapeno, olive oil, Sazon seasoning, cumin and pulse for about 10 seconds. Scrape the sides down and taste, add salt and pepper as necessary and repulse until you reach an even consistency. Remove from food processor into a glass or non-reactive metal bowl – cover with saran wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour, so that the flavors can blend. Remove from the fridge at least 30 minutes prior to serving.  This recipe makes more than you will need for this menu.  Use the rest with tortilla chips or with any other dish you desire.


Mexican Pork Tenderloin
(Serves 4)

1 – Pork Tenderloin (1 to 2 lbs)
1 Packet – Sazon Goya con Culantro Y Achiote Seasoning
1 Packet – McCormick's Sazon with Coriander and Annatto
1 to 2 Tbsp – Taco Seasoning
1 Tsp – Cumin, Heaping
3 to 4 Tbsp – Weber Roasted Garlic & Herb Seasoning
1 Tsp – Salt
1 Tsp – Pepper
1 Tsp – Dried Thyme
1 Tsp – Dried Rosemary
2 Tbsp – Olive Oil

Remove the tenderloin from the refrigerator and rinse it off and pat it dry. Place in a shallow baking dish lined in aluminum foil.

Using a mortar and pestle, blend all of the dry ingredients. I like to add one at a time to get a very nice blended flavor.  Also, please note that I do indeed use the McCormick's and the Goya Sazon products as they have differences in flavor (both are great and you could just use one or the other).

Coat all sides of the tenderloin with the dry rub and place fat side up, drizzle with 1 Tbsp of the olive oil down the piece of fat in a zigzag manner. Let rest and come to room temperature (at least one hour & up to 3 hours).

Preheat oven to 450°.

Drizzle the remaining olive oil down the center of the loin. Bake for 10 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 250°. Bake for 50 to 80 minutes – until internal temperature reads 150°. Remove from the oven and take the tenderloin and place on a cutting board and tent with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Slice and serve.

Avocado Salad
(Serves 2 to 4)

1 – Ripe Haas Avocados, peeled and pitted
1 – Tomato, halved and sliced thin
½ - Medium Onion, halved and sliced thin
2 – Limes
1 – Lemon
1 Tbsp – Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Slice the avocados into strips, combine with the tomato and the onion, salt and pepper to taste. Place into a glass bowl or non-reactive metal bowl and squeeze the juice of the lemon and the limes and lightly toss. Drizzle in the olive oil and again slightly toss.

This makes a great meal.  Very filling, yet light.  To serve, place your slices of pork on plate and place the salsa vertically down the middle of the pork and put the salad on the side.  This is a spicy dish - so if you don't like spicy foods - this probably would not work very well for you.