Quick 'n Easy Chicken Caesar Salad

I bet you're wondering what I did with the extra rotisserie chicken from a previous post.

Remember?  I had two rotisserie chickens, I stripped them of their meat, used one to make chicken salad sandwiches and saved the remaining meat for later.

I made Chicken Caesar Salad with the second chicken.  It's soooo quick to put the salad together when your meat is already prepped.

Of course, I had to make it difficult for myself when I discovered that I was out of croutons as I was in the middle of throwing my salad ingredients into the bowl.  So I decided to make my own croutons (something I have never done before). 

I was not expecting the croutons to turn out as good as they did!  I figured I would just make them and hopefully they would look nice in the salad and no one would know how scatterbrained I was, bloggin' away without the ingredients for my own recipe.  I did not take any pictures of the crouton preparation......and then when I removed them from the oven and discovered how good they were, decided that I had to include them in the blog.

This recipe is great for those nights when you have to throw something together quickly.  If any of your crew shy away from salads, throw it in into a wrap and tell 'em it's not a salad, it's a sandwich.

So, I stand by the "Quick 'n Easy Chicken Caesar Salad" title..........as long as you have your croutons ready-made.

Note to Maureen, who tells me she wishes her kitchen came equipped with a personal chef:

~~This recipe is soooo easy.  There is no cooking involved.  Just gather your ingredients and throw 'em together.  Your family is going to love this!~~

Quick 'n Easy Chicken Caesar Salad

• 1 Rotisserie Chicken, meat removed and cut into bite-sized pieces (about 3 cups)
• 3 Romaine hearts
• 1/2 cup caesar dressing
• 1/2 cup shredded parmigiano reggiano, plus extra for topping
• 1 cup seasoned croutons

Rinse the romaine. 

 Chop the romaine and place in a large bowl, with the chicken.

Add your favorite Caesar Dressing.

This is my favorite Caesar Dressing, Cardini's.  The label says it's the original Caesar dressing, from the creator of the Caesar salad.  I think it's awesome.

Add the shredded parmesan cheese and toss.

This is when I realized that I had no croutons and decided to make my own.

I took two slices of sourdough bread and cut it into 1/2-inch cubes.  I drizzled some olive oil (about 1 tablespoon) on a cookie sheet.  I stirred the bread cubes around into the oil, and then sprinkled them with Lawry's garlic salt.  I let them bake in a 450 degree oven for 5 minutes.

I did not plan on including the crouton cooking instructions in my blog.  I threw them together, crossed my fingers and hoped they would look decent enough to put in the final picture of the finished salad.

 And then I took them out of the oven and they were awesome!  I just had to share a picture and the recipe.

But really, make it easier for yourself and use your favorite packaged croutons.

Serve your salad topped with croutons and additional shredded parm cheese.

Enjoy!