Salad Saturdays: Avocado BLT Bagel Salad

This Wednesday, two pretty cool things happened.

One, we had BLTs. Majorly addicted to BLTs.

Two, I drove for the very first time. We'll get to the BLTs in a sec. First, the driving.  I got my learner's permit in May, but we hasn't done anything with it.  That has changed.  Dad took me one night up and down our driveway (it's pretty long) and then on Wednesday, mom took me on the big road.

Cue scary music *dun dun dun duuuuun*

I was grateful for the confidence both my parents had in me, but I was convinced I was going to wreck the car. It's big and fast and I am not. The sensation of driving for the first time was pretty terrifying. I could ruin our car or someone else's car or worst of all, hurt someone.  But on Wednesday, mom took me down a back gravel road and then into town. I decided right away I didn't like other cars. Nuh uh buddy, your truck could clobber me and my little van, so really, feel free to drive in the opposite direction.  I told my mom my least favorite part of driving was other cars.  She told me that might be hard to accommodate.  Shoot.

In reality, after the first couple minutes, my comfort and confidence grew and it no longer was me completely stressing out. (I'm an extrovert, so in addition to processing out loud, I stress out loud.  A lot of, "I'm doing this wrong, I'm doing this wrong!")  John Caleb and the girls were in the back and were SO supportive.  It was nice, because it wouldn't have helped if they were screaming I was going to kill them all (my thoughts were already there:)  It was a novelty to them and something new and fun.  They even requested that I drive again!  I will definitely remember this summer for driving.

BLTs are summer to me. Something about mayonnaise covered lettuce and bacon is just so darn good.

Crispy bacon, fresh lettuce, juicy tomato slathered in mayo on crunchy toasted bread?

Mega BLT cravings!

But since you all are (hopefully!) well acquainted with this simply incredibly sandwich, I won't post about a regular BLT (though they are good.)  

I put the BLT in a salad. And added my favorite, avocado. That's actually how I eat all my BLTs, with avocado or guacamole. And then, when brainstorming ideas for croutons, the bag of frozen bagels in our freezer popped into mind. Make an easy mayo dressing, drizzle it on your salad and enjoy summer in a bowl. 

Guys, this are good. Really, really good. We can pretend calling it a salad makes it diet food. Because you really need two or seven bowls of it.  

Avocado BLT Bagel Salad

Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life

Yield: 3-4 servings 

 

Bagel croutons:

1 whole plain bagel, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mayonnaise dressing:

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons balsalmic vinegar*
Milk, add by teaspoons until desired consistency is achieved
 

Salad:

3 cups lettuce, finely chopped 

1 large tomato, seeded and chopped

6-8 slices cooked bacon, chopped
1 avocado, sliced 

For the croutons, toss bagel cubes in oil, salt, and pepper.  Cook in a medium sized skillet on medium heat until browned evenly and crispy.  Let cool on a paper towel for an hour.

For dressing: Whisk all the ingredients together.  Set aside.

For salad: Layer lettuce, tomato, bacon, and avocado in a bowl/bowls.  When ready to serve, divide bagel croutons between bowl/bowls and drizzle with dressing.

*If you don't like balsalmic, you can use red wine vinegar.

Avocado: I like to add it to everything!

Avocado Strawberry Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette
 

Mexican Chicken Salad with Corn, Cucumber, and Avocado Salsa

 

Dark Chocolate Avocado Yogurt Brownies

 

 

P.S. Could you click the "New Recipe Page" tab and let me know in the comments if anything comes up or not?  Thanks!