Homemade chicken caesar salad with crispy, baked chicken!

Good afternoon, everyone!

Today I want to share with you a light dinner recipe that I like to make for my loved ones in the summer! Caesar salad is his favorite salad dish, and now that the weather is warmer, I have added some baked chicken and turned it into dinner! This recipe is great for days when you may be playing outside and do not have a lot of time to prep and cook, or if you get home late and do not want too big of a meal, too close to bedtime. If you like your salad more filling, load up on the crispy chicken, croutons, parmesan cheese, and add a piece of bread on the side. If you want a lighter dish, keep the more filling ingredients to a minimum.

Enjoy! :-)


What you'll need:

• 1 head of romaine lettuce
• 1 package of Texas toast Caesar or Seasoned croutons
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 T freshly squeezed  or bottled lemon juice
• 1 tsp dijon mustard or mustard powder
• 1 t worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup Canola mayonnaise
• 1 lg. container of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (at least 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t ground black pepper
• 4-5 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 2 eggs
• 1 T fresh or dried parsley (optional)
• salt & pepper
• Seasoned whole wheat or white breadcrumbs 
• Canola oil cooking spray

Directions:

1) Prepare a foiled and oiled baking sheet for your chicken breasts and retrieve the first 10 ingredients to prepare your salad mix and dressing! :-)

2) Wash, cut up, and set aside your head of romaine lettuce in a med.-lg. salad bowl. Then mince up your 2 cloves of garlic, set aside, and retrieve a medium-sized bowl to start on your salad dressing.

3) In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the minced garlic, lemon juice, mustard, and worcestershire sauce. Then add 1/2 cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano, salt, pepper, whisk until combined, and add water in small quantities to your dressing mix until you get the consistency you desire.

4) Retrieve 2 medium-sized shallow and wide bowls for egging and breading your chicken and preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Fill 1 of the bowls with 2 eggs, 1 T parsley, salt & pepper, and the other with seasoned breadcrumbs.

5) Egg and bread your 5 chicken breasts, place them on your foiled and oiled baking sheet, and give them a hefty spray of Canola oil cooking spray.

6) Place them in the oven and set a timer for 10 minutes. When the timer goes off, turn up the heat to 400 degrees F, flip each breast, give each another good spray of Canola oil, and bake for another 5-10 minutes (depending on how thick your chicken breasts are). *This will make your chicken breasts nice and crispy! :-)

7) When your chicken breasts are done, let them cool for 5 minutes, and cut into bite-size chunks.

8) Top each plate with lettuce, parmesan cheese, croutons, crispy baked chicken, and homemade dressing! 

Happy Friday!

Xo -Jess

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