Cowgirl Salad Recipes

Steps:

• Whisk together the vinegar, pickled jalapeno brine, honey, 1/2 teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper in a large bowl. Whisk in the oil to make a smooth dressing.
• Add the black-eyed peas, black beans, corn, cilantro, pickled jalapeno, scallions, tomatoes and bell pepper. Toss to coat in the dressing. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour to blend the flavors before serving. Serve with tortilla chips for scooping.

Steps:

• For the bacon and tortilla strips: Fry the bacon in a medium skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Add some vegetable oil to the bacon skillet and fry the tortilla strips until crisp, approximately 1 minute. Drain on paper towels.
• For the BBQ ranch dressing: In a bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, barbecue sauce, parsley, chives and garlic. Adjust the consistency with buttermilk to make it a little thinner. Taste and add hot sauce and salt as needed.
• For the salad: Put the lettuce, tomatoes, scallions, bacon and most of the cheese into a bowl. Drizzle over the dressing and stir. Scatter over some pico de gallo, the tortilla strips and the reserved cheese, then serve.
• Dice up equal quantities of the tomatoes and onions. Roughly chop the cilantro. Now slice 1 or 2 jalapenos in half. With a spoon, scrape out the seeds. (If you like things spicy, leave in some of the white membranes.) Dice the jalapenos very finely; you want a hint of heat and jalapeno flavor, but you don't want to cause any fires. Now dump these 4 ingredients into a bowl.
• Slice the lime in half and squeeze the juice from one half into the bowl. Sprinkle with salt and stir together until combined. Be sure to taste the pico de gallo and adjust the seasonings, adding salt, lime juice or more diced jalapeno as needed. Yield: 8 servings

Steps:

• In a large bowl, stir all ingredients very well.
• Refrigerate for at least 4-6 hours, preferably overnight, in a sealed or covered container.
• Remember the longer it sits, the better it gets!
• Serve with old-fashioned saltine crackers or with corn tortilla chips.

Steps:

• TO make the dressing, mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
• TO make the salad, mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
• ADD the dressing to the salad and leave in the refrigerator for one hour or one day.
• BEFORE serving the salad, add the chopped tomatoes and garnish with lime wedges and cilantro.