Grilled Steak Chopped Salad with Avocado Cilantro Dressing

You guys ever have those weekends that you know you will never forget? Usually if I have a weekend off, it consists of running every errand possible that I wasn't able to do during the week, and then catching up on stuff around the house (laundry piles up faster than I think). But now that I have had a slight schedule change in work, I am gracious to be having all weekends off from now on. So instead of hustling the weekend by and cramming as much as humanly possible, I took the time to slow down, just a little bit. We enjoyed dinner at one of our favorite local spots, grabbed a beer after, and even spent half of Saturday soaking up the sun by the pool (hello gorgeous wedding tan, using SPF, of course). Saturday night I had the absolute pleasure to be on the judging panel at Scottsdale Spice Fest, where we hand selected a chef to move on to the World Chef Challenge in Florida this fall. Sunday was lazy, complete with a farmer's market breakfast hash and Netflix. Uncomplicated and perfect. Just like this salad. I love having so many different textures in one meal. The crunch from the tortilla chips really pairs well with the creamy avocado, and well, I don't have to tell you how delicious steak is. 

Grilled Steak Chopped Salad
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 2 6-oz. steaks
• 1 tbsp. oil (I used avocado oil)
• 1 head romaine lettuce, rinsed and chopped
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 ears of corn, shucked
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 mango, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 1 large avocado, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• crushed tortilla chips for garnish

Avocado Cilantro Dressing

• 1 large avocado, peeled and seeded
• 1 bunch cilantro, leaves only
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup water
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat grill to high heat. Meanwhile, take your meat out of the fridge and season the steaks with oil, salt and pepper on both sides. Add the corn, bell pepper and steaks to the hot grill. Cook the steaks for 4 minutes, then flip over to the second side and grill for another 4-5 minutes for medium. Turn the corn and pepper occasionally during this time. Remove the meat and veggies from the heat and allow the steaks to rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes before slicing.

While the steaks rest, shuck the grilled corn from the cobbs and chop the red bell pepper. In a large serving bowl, toss together the lettuce, beans, corn, bell pepper, mango, and avocado. 

Carefully slice the steaks against the grain into 1/2-inch slices. Add to the salad bowl, and toss with the avocado cilantro dressing*. Serve with crushed tortilla chips for an added crunch.

*To make the dressing, puree all of the listed ingredients until smooth.