Garden-Fresh Chopped Salad with Herb-Ranch Dressing

Total Time 30 min
Makes 8 side-dish servings or 14 cups

1 lb. green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-in. pieces
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup light mayonnaise
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 Tbsp snipped fresh chives
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 green onion, minced
Salt and pepper
8 oz. hearts of romaine lettuce, coarsely chopped
4 pts. red and/or yellow cherry tomatoes, each cut in half
2 red, orange, and/or yellow peppers, cut into 1-in. pieces
2 avocados, peeled and cut into 1/2-in. chunks

1. Heat 3-quart saucepan of water to boiling on high. Add green beans and cook 5 minutes until tender-crisp. Drain beans in colander and rinse under cold running water ro stop cooking.
2. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, mayo, vinegar, chives, parsley, green onion, 1/2tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper until blended; set dressing aside.
3. In 4-quart or larger cylindrical glass bowl or trifle dish, place half of lettuce, then half of tomatoes; top with all of beans, all of peppers, remaining lettuce, then remaining tomatoes. Arrange avocados on top. Spoon dressing over avocados to cover completely. If not serving right away, cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate salad until ready to serve or up to 4 hours.
4. If serving bowl is not large enough for mixing, transfer salad to very large bowl and toss until well coated with dressing.

Notes: Very yummy salad. The dressing is especially good. We only made half the recipe and it was still a lot of salad. Do the full portion of the dressing though.