A *Loaded* Fried Chicken Salad & The Cutest Lollipop Wreath

I really enjoy a great salad!  I especially love a salad that pleases men and woman alike.  I made my husband and sweet brother in law suffer through a taste test on this Fried Chicken Salad before finalizing the recipe for the blog.  They both gave it their seal of approval, so I hope it's a hit at your home as well.  The fried chicken strips made for this salad are a recipe staple for me.  They've got that delicious Southern fried chicken taste.
You can use them in any chicken salad recipe or just serve them up with dipping sauce. 

So here we go...
Make the dressing:
1 packet Hidden Valley Buttermilk Recipe Ranch
1 cup Mayo
1 cup Buttermilk

Prepare the chicken strips:
Heat about 1/2" of vegetable oil, peanut oil or canola oil in a skillet over med/high heat. You'll know the oil is ready when you sprinkle a drip of water into it and the water pops.

Place desired amount of chicken tenders in a zip lock bag with buttermilk and a dash of Tabasco.


Roll the chicken tenders in self rising flour seasoned with salt and pepper,


coating both sides of the chicken.


Gentle tap off extra flour and carefully place chicken tenders in hot oil.




Do in batches, if needed, so you do not crowd the pan.


Fry chicken until golden brown and then flip to fry other side.


When both sides are golden brown, the chicken is done.  Remove from pan and place on a paper towel lined plate.


Prepare the salad:
Combine 1 head chopped Romaine lettuce, 1/2 cup fresh corn, 1/2 cup canned black beans (drained and rinsed), 1 chopped tomato and 2 chopped green onions in a big salad bowl.


Right before serving, add shredded cheddar jack cheese (I do a generous handful) and toss with desired amount of ranch dressing.
Cut fried chicken strips on the biased into bite size pieces and place on salad.  Drizzle your favorite BBQ sauce over the chicken and then sprinkle Fritos corn chips over the whole thing.
YUM!


Now dig into this scrumptious salad and think to yourself, this is better than my favorite restaurant!


The Lemonista's Fried Chicken Salad

Dressing:
1 packet Hidden Valley Buttermilk Recipe Ranch dressing mix
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup Best Foods Mayo
*Prepare the dressing per the instructions on the packet.

Chicken:
1 package boneless, skinless chicken tenders
self rising flour, seasoned with salt & pepper
buttermilk, seasoned with 1 dash Tabasco
Oil for frying
*Heat about 1/2" of vegetable oil, peanut oil or canola oil in a skillet over med/high heat. You'll know the oil is ready when you sprinkle a drip of water into it and the water pops.
Place desired amount of chicken tenders in a zip lock bag with buttermilk and a dash of Tabasco.
Roll the chicken tenders in self rising flour seasoned with salt and pepper,coating both sides of the chicken.
Gentle tap off extra flour and carefully place chicken tenders in hot oil.
Do in batches, if needed, so you do not crowd the pan.
Fry chicken until golden brown and then flip to fry other side.
When both sides are golden brown, the chicken is done. Remove from pan and place on a paper towel lined plate.

Salad:
1 head Romaine lettuce
1/2 cup fresh corn
1/2 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tomato,  chopped
2 green onions, chopped
Shredded cheddar jack cheese
*Combine 1 head chopped Romaine lettuce, 1/2 cup fresh corn, 1/2 cup canned black beans (drained and rinsed), 1 chopped tomato and 2 chopped green onions in a big salad bowl.
Right before serving, add shredded cheddar jack cheese (I do a generous handful) and toss with desired amount of ranch dressing.

Topping:
BBQ sauce
Fritos corn chips
*Cut fried chicken strips on the biased into bite size pieces and place on salad. Drizzle your favorite BBQ sauce over the chicken and then sprinkle Fritos corn chips over the whole thing.



Guest Blogging for me today is my fashionista neighbor, Stephanie.

 
Steph has the most adorable lollipop wreath hanging on her front door.
 
Here's her tutorial on how to make this amazingly cute wreath:
 

Lollipop Dum Dum Wreath

The Dollar Tree store is basically a 99 cent store and I went and bought a Styrofoam green

round wreath for 99 cents. Michael's sells them for like $4.00. I also bought three

one pound bags of Dum Dum lollipops to complete the wreath. I have seen this done with

the wrappers taken off so you can see the pretty colors of the candy. I kept the wrappers on

so the guest could grab a lollipop on there way out. I have decided to keep it up for Easter since

it's so decorative and happy!

Items needed:

3- one pound bags of Dum Dum's

1-Styrofoam round circle wreath

1- ribbon that is decorative to hang the wreath

How to:

Cut sticks so there is about an inch to the stick, so you can stick into the foam. I went around the

diameter, then spiraled into the middle, and finished the outside edge last. If you have the

lollipops close together without gaps they will stay in place. The door is where I have mine

and a few have fallen off, and I just re-stick them. I guess if you have no intention of eating them

you could spray an adhesive to help them stay.

It was a hit at my daughters 8th birthday party, which had a craft theme tied to it.

Thanks Holly Hobbie!!!

Have a great week, everyone!  I'm off to Disneyland tomorrow with my family.

~The Lemonista