I’m on a Mason jar kick! Have you noticed? I’m inspired by these little containers and I can’t seem to stop thinking up new recipes for them. SO so sooooo many ideas that I’ll be sharing with you. Can’t wait!

Here’s the latest. It’s a combination of two of my favorite salads. Cowboy Caviar and Taco Salad. I used lean chicken for the taco meat, but if you’d rather use shredded beef or pork, or your favorite ground meat, go right ahead. It was Jeff’s idea to make a dramatic statement with the tortilla strips and I love it. Such a fun presentation for a dinner party on the deck.

For 2 mason jar salads, use 2 (25 oz.) Mason jars and stack in the following order:

 2 cups taco chicken, cooled (recipe below)

1 cup canned black beans (drained and rinsed very well)

1 cup canned corn (drained very well)

1 cup pico de gallo (recipe below)

1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

1 batch guacamole (recipe below)

1/2 cup cooked, cold brown or white rice

handful of spring greens or shredded lettuce

store bought tortilla strips or homemade tortilla strips (recipe below)

for the taco chicken:

2 cups cooked chicken chunks

1 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon garlic powder

mix all ingredients together in a small bowl

for the pico:

1/4 cup purple onion, chopped

1 Roma tomato, seeded and chopped

1 small jalapeno pepper, chopped

3 Tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

mix all ingredients together in a small bowl

for the guacamole:

1 ripe avocado, mashed until smooth

4 oz. sour cream

3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder

mix all ingredients together in a small bowl

for the tortilla strips:

4 small (taco size) corn tortillas

peanut oil

Place about 1 inch of peanut oil in the bottom of a cast iron Dutch oven and heat to 350 degrees F. (shimmering but not smoking.) Cut tortillas into strips using a pizza cutter. Fry strips in hot oil until golden brown. Remove to paper towel lined plates to cool.

To serve: stack ingredients in jars in order given and decorate the top with the tortilla strips. Each guest can remove the chips to a little plate and mix up their own salad. Use the salad as a dip for the chips, or crumble them into the salad as you go.

Enjoy!

~Melissa