BLT Salad

Yes, you read that right.
BLT Salad....Bacon Lettuce Tomato Salad.
Just like the beloved BLT sandwich, but this is the salad version & it's amazing.
I don't know about you, but now that the summer months have arrived, most of our dinners consist of grilling some meat (steak, chicken, salmon, chicken apple sausages) on the BBQ and serving it with a yummy salad.
I have blogged several of our "go-to" salads (you can find them HERE on the Salads tab of my Recipe Box) but have quite a few more go-to salads that I need to blog.
This BLT Salad is one of them:

This salad is so good & so full of flavor even though there are only a few ingredients.
The bacon is the star of the show, because...hello....BACON!
Here is what you need:

- Romaine Lettuce (I used romaine lettuce from my Garden!)
- Bacon (my favorite is Hormel Thick cut)
- Tomatoes (I like red cherry & sun gold tomatoes. I am growing both varieties in my garden, but they aren't ripe yet)
- Croutons (optional)
-Avocado (optional)

This salad is super simple to make. First, I cook the bacon.
I cook my bacon on a cookie sheet in the oven.

So much easier than cooking it in a pan!
I line my cookie sheet with parchment paper.

I bake my bacon at 425 degrees for about 10-15 minutes.
Every oven is different. I check mine at 10 minutes & cook it longer if it isn't as crispy as I like it.

Yum. Bacon.

You will need to save some of the bacon drippings for the dressing.
I let the bacon cool for about 10 minutes before I chop it up:

While your bacon is cooking, I prep the salad.
This salad is super easy to make.

Chop the tomatoes in half:Then I make the dressing.
Here is what you need for the salad dressing:

- 1/4 cup of Mayo
-1/4 cup of Sour Cream
- 2 T Red Wine Vinegar
-1 t ground black pepper
- Fresh Basil, chopped finely
-2 T of bacon drippings/grease

I chop up the fresh basil pretty fine.
(Hint for chopping basil: roll it in a ball & then dice it up! Super easy!)

Add the mayo, sour cream, pepper, red wine vinegar & bacon drippings to a mason jar (or other container)

I put the lid on the mason jar & shake it up! If you want a thinner consistency, add a splash of milk (or a splash of lemon juice):

Assemble your salad....lettuce, tomatoes, bacon, croutons, avocado...so pretty!

Don't add the dressing until you are ready to serve your salad! A little dressing goes a LONG way.

I like my salads to be *slightly* coated. The bacon gives this salad so much flavor, so you don't need a lot of dressing.  If you don't feel like making your own dressing, you could add store bought dressing (like ranch). I prefer homemade dressings because they just taste fresher, especially when the salads are full of fresh ingredients!

Disclosure: This post was written as part of my participation in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger Program. While Hormel Foods provides me material and necessary resources to complete various activities, the thoughts and statements in this post are my own.

 I sometimes eat this for lunch because it is so delicious!
Enjoy!