Southwest Fiesta Salad

Ingredients

• 1 head Romaine Lettuce, torn or cut in bite size pieces
• ¼ small red cabbage, thinly sliced (optional)
• 1 large Tomato, (Heirloom) diced
• 1 Red Sweet Onion, halved, then thinly sliced
• 1 ear of corn, raw and kernels removed from cob
• 1 red, yellow, orange or purple Bell Pepper, seeds removed, quartered then thinly sliced
• 1 ripe Avocado, sliced or diced
• 1 jalapeno chili, finely chopped
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed or precooked from dried form (follow directions on package)
• 1 can sliced black olives
• ½ bunch cilantro, chopped without stems (reserve stems for dressing)
• ¼ cup grated 2% cheddar cheese
• blue corn tortilla chips, broken up or toast your own corn tortilla chips by baking them in the oven in thin strips -optional
• 4 grilled chicken breasts (optional) this is also good with grilled shrimp
• 4 olive or avocado oil
• 2 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice or lemon can be used
• ¼ cup raw pepitas
• a handful of those cilantro stems
• some of the finely chopped jalapeno
• salt
• pepper