A lot of Foodbuzz bloggers are doing all they can do to get to this year’s food blogger festival. We have been joining in on contests and cooking some of the best and wildest creations we can come up with. I decided to give it a go with one of the competitions. As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received coupons for free bags of Fresh Express Salad mixes. The challenge was to come up with a unique recipe using a bag of one of their salad mixes. Now, I will have to admit that I have been using Fresh Express salad mixes for awhile, not even really paying attention to the brand label. When I went to one of my favorite grocery stores to look for these mixes, I was pleasantly surprised that they were some of the stuff I use regularly when I make salads. I am brand conscious on some things but I guess salad was never really one of those things I paid attention too (I do now!). Now that I had stood in front of a bajillion salad mix choices, I had to come up with a unique recipe using salad (something most of my followers know is not my strong suit) and still give it The Manly Housewife twist. I looked through all the different bags, from simple romaine hearts to cleverly packaged mixes like Caesar mix, Italian mix and sweet butter mix. I had no clue what I was going to try and make. It was fun running through several combination in my head trying to come up with that winning recipe. Some of the combinations I came up with I’m really glad I didn’t actually try.

What I decided on was the Kit House Ranch Salad mix. Truthfully, what got me was the secret recipe ranch dressing that came with the iceberg lettuce, carrots, and red cabbage. As  I stood with the bag in hand things started  coming together. I was coming up with that recipe that was worthy of The Manly Housewife name. Something that was true to my style of cooking and put the Fresh Express on display.

Fresh Express Club Tacos

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 Bag Fresh Express Kit House Ranch Salad Mix

1/4 Small Red Onion

8 Strips Bacon, fried until crispy, drained, and chopped

2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

1/4 Cup  Shitake Mushrooms, chopped (about 4 large mushrooms)

1 Tomato, diced

2 Hard-Boil Eggs, chopped

1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

The Manly Housewife Taco Seasoning Ingredients

½ Teaspoon Ground Cumin

1 Teaspoon Chili Powder

½ Teaspoon Paprika

½ Teaspoon Garlic Powder

½ Teaspoon Onion Powder

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Directions

Now the fun begins

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Combine spices to make taco seasoning and heavily coat both sides of the chicken breast.
3. Add oil to pan and turn to medium-high heat and cook chicken breast 3 minutes both sides until the breast get that nice blackened look.
4. Place chicken in the oven to finish cooking (you will know it’s done when juices run clear, about 10 minutes).
5. Hard boil the eggs (place to eggs in a pot of cool water 1 inch higher than the eggs, bring to a boil, then cover and remove from heat for 12 minutes; rinse with cool water, peel, and dice.)
6. Open bag of Kit House Ranch Salad and mix the salad with the awesome ranch (this ranch has definitely got that made-from-scratch taste; it rocks!)
7. Assemble the tacos in layers (it’s going to get messy!).
8. Layer in this order for maximum flavor: chopped chicken breast, cheese, Kit House Ranch Salad, mushrooms, egg , red onion, and cooked bacon,
9. When the tacos begin to bust at the seams, fold up and eat.
10. Enjoy!

Check out Fresh Express on there Website

Keep up with them on their Kit Blog