Baked Chicken Cobb Salad

Baked Chicken Cobb Salad

Josh and I (like most of America) love a hearty Cobb salad, but I wanted something a little different.  So I decided to top the chicken with all the fixings and bake it.  For a little side note, Josh said it was the best salad he has ever had. If you attempt nothing else, try this one.

Ingredients:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
butter
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 package of pancetta, I found a package that was diced already (Pancetta is an Italian bacon, you can get it at any grocery store.  I found the diced pancetta in freezer section at Trader Joe's)

1 avocado, cubed
1 bag of organic Colby jack blend shredded cheese
1 tomato, chopped into bite size pieces
1 small onion, finely diced
3-4 cloves of garlic, grated
salt and pepper
Romaine lettuce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large skillet heat olive oil and butter on medium-high heat.  Season chicken with salt and pepper.  When butter foams add the chicken breasts, seasoned side down.  Season the other side and brown chicken.  It should take 10-12 minutes on each side. 

Once the chicken is browned on both sides, remove from the pan and place them in a greased baking dish. If you bought already diced pancetta, add it to the pan and fully cook it until golden brown.  If you bought whole slices of pancetta, it needs to be finely diced. Once the pancetta is fully cooked, remove and drain on a paper towel, then add your diced onion and grate in your garlic to the pan drippings.  Onions need to be cooked low and slow, so turn your burner down to medium until the onions are tender and translucent.  Once the onions are cooked through,add tomato and avocado.  Cook just until everything is fragrant.  About 5 minutes.

 Put vegetable mixture and pancetta in a mixing bowl and add 3/4 of the cheese.  Pour over top of the chicken and top with the rest of the cheese.  Bake until the chicken juices run clear and the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Homemade Ranch Dressing:
Condiments can kill a healthy dinner and by DH is all about his condiments.  So I made a lighter version of ranch dressing.  I didn't measure anything out.  I just used what I had, so feel free to add to this recipe or substitute if needed.  I used 1/4 cup of low fat sour cream, 1/4 cup of plain Greek yogurt, ranch seasoning (like Hidden Valley), and dried dill.  Just mix all ingredients together.