Layered Tex Mex Salad With Creamy Lime Dressing

Wow! Gone Fishin had a 50th Birthday celebration and this was one of the featured dishes. **Use a trifle dish for displaying this beautiful salad. And, to be perfectly honest, we used the already made cornbread, found at Central Market, but should your local grocer not have that available, included are the instructions for an almost-as-easy cornbread. Fantastic with beef and chicken fajitas, Ninfa's hot sauce, tortillas, Couscous Salad With Lime-Spinach Dressing, grilled vegetables, and margaritas! Bueno Fiesta! *Recipe by Sunny Anderson

• Ready In: 40 mins
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

•  butter, for preparing 8 by 8-inch glass pan
• 1 (8 1/2ounce) box  cornbread mix (recommended ( Jiffy)
• 1  large egg
• 1⁄3 cup milk
• 1 (15 1/2ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1  Sazon Goya seasoning, packet
•  salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1  cup salsa
• 2  tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1  head romaine lettuce, cut into strips
• 1 1⁄2 cups monterey jack cheese, grated
• 1 1⁄2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
• 2  tablespoons cilantro leaves, freshly chopped
• 1  tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1  teaspoon lime zest
• 1⁄4 cup lime juice
• 1⁄2 cup sour cream
• 1  garlic clove, smashed
• 1  tablespoon honey
• 1⁄2 cup extra virgin olive oil
•  salt & freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Grease an 8 by 8-inch glass pan with butter. Stir together the cornbread mix with the egg and milk.
3. Evenly spread into prepared pan and bake on the middle rack for 20 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 10 minutes.
5. Remove from pan to cool completely.
6. Mix together the beans with the sazon and season with salt and pepper.
7. Toss the salsa with the tomatoes.
8. When ready to serve, cut the cornbread into 1/2-inch croutons.
9. Toss the lettuce with 3/4 cups of the dressing. In a clear trifle dish, layer the Tex-Mex Salad beginning with the black beans followed by the Monterey jack cheese, the tomato salsa mixture, the Cheddar, the dressed romaine and top with the cornbread croutons.
10. Serve the remaining dressing on the side.
11. For the dressing, use a blender and blend all the ingredients except the olive oil until smooth.
12. While machine is running, slowly drizzle in the oil until incorporated.
13. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.