Chicken Caesar Salad and a Slit Baked Potato

Hello friends! On this Sunday evening, dinner was a bit more classic and simple. Juli, Anna and I dined on a crunchy chicken Caesar salad with croutons and Parmesan cheese, along with some baked potatoes that were slit and fanned out. Now you are probably wondering what in the world I'm talking about; slit potatoes. Well it was something that Juli and I found on this great website called Pinterest. Kara first showed it to us, and what it is, is a website that allows people to share ideas about anything and everything. It is a virtual "cork board", if you will, that users pin different things, such as recipes, fashions, decorating ideas, crafts, etc. and everyone else on the website can see it. And if you see something you like, you can re-pin it to your own "cork board". You can even follow your friends and see what they have re-pinned and vice versa.

So this Pinterest website is where Juli and I found the slit potato idea. It is something that was fun and different to do with a baked potato, and it was delicious! The way it presents itself makes it a good design for a table setting at a party or a holiday dinner. Even doing this with a sweet potato would be a fun way to make the food pop.

The chicken Caesar salad was fresh, green and crunchy. Just the way I like it! We used Romain hearts and sliced them into strips. The chicken was Parmesan crusted...and it sure was crusty. It was addicting when I would try a little piece and just kept coming back for more. Juli was the Parmesan chicken chef and cooked them piece by piece on the stove. We added in a few croutons and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese on top, and it was go time! 

Here is the recipe for the Parmesan chicken!

Ingredients
3 large chicken boobs
buttermilk
Panko bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese
salt
garlic powder
2 eggs
olive oil

Directions
Cut the chicken in half long-ways and place in a zip lock bag. Tenderize the chicken like MJ and just beat it...with a frying pan. Once tenderized, pour some buttermilk into the bag until the chicken is coated and place in the refrigerator. Let sit in the refrigerator for as long as you can; maybe 30 minutes to an hour. While chicken is soaking, beat together 2 eggs in a small, shallow bowl. In another shallow dish, mix together Parmesan cheese and Panko bread crumbs. Remove chicken from refrigerator and take one piece of chicken at a time and place in egg wash until coated. Then transfer to Parmesan and Panko mixture and coat liberally. Then place on a plate. Do this until all the chicken is coated. Then heat some olive oil in a frying pan and place 2-3 large chicken pieces in pan and cook through so chicken is no longer pink. Serve and enjoy!

This way of making Parmesan chicken is pretty standard and simple, and it tastes so stinkin' good! I suggest to anyone that likes chicken to try making this. And now, here is the recipe for the slit baked potatoes!

Ingredients
2 large potatoes
olive oil
minced garlic
salt
pepper

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the potatoes with a bunch of thin slits, but don't cut all the way through. Then drizzle a little olive oil over the top and make sure it gets into the slits. Then spread minced garlic over the slits, and make sure those get in there too. Then sprinkle salt and pepper over potatoes and into the slits. Place in the oven and cook for about 40 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Remove from oven, and enjoy!

These potatoes were really fun to make and they are something new and exciting to do with potatoes. Whether you are just at home on a Sunday night making dinner, or making something to bring to a party, these are great! And with the garlic, salt and pepper, they tickle the taste buds.

I hope you are enjoying these recipes, and if there is anything you would like my roommates and me to try please let me know!