Mexican Caesar Salad

As you well know, I am always scouring the interwebs for new and exciting Mexican dishes of all kinds.  Tacos, enchiladas, salads, you name it, I'm on it!  Well, when I found this recipe for Mexican Caesar Salad I was intrigued so I decided to try it.  Oh my gosh you guys!  It was the bomb!  Now, when you see the list of ingredients for the dressing it might sound a little weird (I mean, Mexican meets Italian?  really?) but I PROMISE it is a winner!  Give it a shot!  I know you won't be disappointed!

Mexican Caesar Salad (adapted from stonewallkitchen.com)

For the salad:

1 (10 oz.) bag romaine hearts
1 pt. cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 (15 1/2 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 small avocados, pitted, peeled and cut into chunks
Tortilla strips or crushed tortilla chips for topping (I used about 2 oz.)

For the dressing:

1 small clove garlic
1 t. Dijon mustard
2 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice (can also use lime juice)
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 c. salsa of your choice (I used Herdez)
1 t. salt

For the salad:

Place the romaine hearts in a large salad bowl and top with the tomatoes, black beans, avocados and tortilla strips.  You can do this ahead but I wouldn't do it too far ahead because the avocados will start to brown.

For the dressing:

In the bowl of a food processor place
all ingredients and pulse until combined.  My salsa was chunky so I pulsed it a while until it was pretty smooth.  Pour over the salad, toss and serve!

6 servings (247 calories each serving) according to my calculator on loseit.com