Cobb Salad with Chili-Lime Dressing

So there I was, perusing my weekly email from Taste of Home, not really paying attention, when the words "chili-lime dressing" caught my eye. Intrigued, I checked out the recipe, and I started seeing ingredients like green chiles... cilantro... lime juice... sour cream... hot sauce?! I could hear the Von Trapp kids... "These are a few of my favorite things..."  I've been wanting to attempt a homemade salad dressing for a while, and I knew I had to give this one a try.

This couldn't be more fresh and summery if it tried.

The recipe is really just for this amazing, cool-yet-spicy dressing. I'll include Taste of Home's original suggestions for salad toppings as well as some of my own.

Chili-Lime Salad Dressing
From: Taste of Home
Makes: a little more than a cup

You'll need:
1 (4 oz) can of chopped green chiles, undrained
2/3 c sour cream
1/4 c fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
2 T lime juice
1/2 t pepper
1/4 to 1/2 t hot sauce
1/4 t salt

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth and mixed.

The original recipe doesn't specify how long you can keep this dressing in the fridge; I'd guess about a week, like most other homemade dressings. But don't worry... you won't have trouble using it before then.

Suggested salad toppings:

Hearts of romaine (I prefer green leaf)
Kidney beans (I bet black beans would be even better)
Monterrey Jack cheese (I used cheddar)
Tomatoes
Chicken breast (I left it out and the salad wasn't missing anything)
Avocado (Yes. Always.)
Chopped red onion (one of my favorite salad toppings)
Bacon bits (I didn't feel they belonged, personally)

I also tried chopped red bell pepper, and I bet crispy tortilla strips would be fantastic. Whatever you decide to throw on the plate, just make it a fresh and tasty backdrop for this knockout dressing.

Happy summer, everybody!