Eating Well Wednesday - BLT Salad

Monday I was having a serious bacon craving so I made some turkey bacon and then wondered what I could do with it. Naturally, the standard BLT popped into my head but I wanted something different and remembered that I needed a recipe for Eating Well Wednesday. I typed BLT into their site and this fabulous salad appeared. Again, the only alteration I made was using turkey bacon instead of the center cut. Consider adding some leftover chicken.

Ingredients:

1 cup cubed whole-wheat country bread

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 medium tomatoes, divided

3 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise

2 tablespoons minced chives or scallion greens (I used scallions)

2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Freshly ground pepper to taste

5 cups chopped hearts of romaine lettuce

3 slices center-cut bacon, cooked and crumbled (I used turkey bacon)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Toss bread with oil and spread on a baking sheet. Bake, turning once, until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

2. Cut 1 tomato in half. Working over a large bowl, shred both halves using the large holes on a box grater. Discard the skin. Add mayonnaise, chives (or scallion greens), vinegar, garlic powder and pepper; whisk to combine.

3. Chop the remaining 3 tomatoes. Add the tomatoes, romaine and croutons to the bowl with the dressing; toss to coat. Sprinkle with bacon.