Easy Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons!

Caesar Salads are one of our easy go to meals. We aren't big on bottled dressings around here. In fact, I don't think I've bought a bottle of salad dressing in years! Why would you want to when you can whip up a homemade version that tastes better, is less expensive, and just as easy? This salad is so good. A garlicy dressing with a savory bite to it, the salty parmesan  and don't get me started on these crunchy on the outside chewy on the inside herbalicious croutons. So so good.

Dressing: 
1 tsp salt
1 garlic clove (minced in a garlic press)
3 tsp anchovy paste
2 egg yolks (no whites!) 
1 tbs dijon mustard
Juice of 2 lemons
2 tbs water
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup grated parmesan 
1/2 tsp pepper 
Mix all of your dressing ingredients in a mini prep food processor as you add them so that the olive oil can emulsify. If you don't have a mini prep, you can use a whisk, just beat it super hard until it all mixes together.)

Salad: 
2 heads romaine lettuce, washed, spun in salad spinner, and cut up into bite sized pieces
Homemade croutons (see recipe below)
1/3 cup grated parmesan
1-2 breasts cooked chicken, cut up into bite sized pieces and cooled

Croutons: 
Cut 1/2 of an Italian loaf bread into large squares. 
Spray the bread with your olive oil mister. (Or just drizzle if you don't have a mister).
Sprinkle liberally with Italian seasoning.
Season with salt and pepper. 
Bake in oven at 425 for 10 minutes. 
These are flavorful, crunchy on the outside yet a little tender on the inside. They are much healthier and yummier than any type of crouton you can get in the store. Look at these beauties!

Once you have your dressing and croutons made, you can simply assemble your salad and serve it immediately  This will make about 4 meal sized salads. This is the type of caesar salad you would expect to be served at a lovely restaurant, only now you can enjoy it at home in just minutes. 

Bon Appetite!

Mushroom Risotto

I make a mean mushroom risotto. (I don't mean mean as in will punch you in the face and shove you in a locker mean, but this certainly will knock your socks off.)

It's creamy and filling and surprisingly low fat. I posted it on this blog awhile back and it's one of the recipes I come back to most. But the photo and directions were so terrible on my previous post, I need to redo it. Hopefully this one is clearer. Either way it's delicious. 

1 cup arborio rice

1 pkg mushrooms

2 cans chicken stock

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 

1 cup white wine

Tyme 

Salt and pepper 

1/2 onion chopped 

Dice 1/2 of an onion. 

Put a large skillet over medium heat and melt 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the pan. 

Add your onion and sauté for a couple of minutes. 

Then add 1 cup arborio rice to the pan and sauté a couple more minutes. As you do this start your timer for 22 minutes. 

Add 1 cup white wine and cook on high until the liquid is absorbed. Stir frequently. 

While this cooks chop up 1 pkg of portobello mushrooms. (Or whatever type of mushroom you like.) In a separate pan cook your mushrooms in some olive oil, salt, and pepper. Cook the mushrooms down until nice and tender. Set aside. 

Back to the rice. You will now add 2 cans of WARM chicken broth in 1/2 cup increments. (I pop mine in the microwave to heat it up.) Keep stirring the risotto frequently and only add the next 1/2 cup when the previous liquid has been absorbed. Your goal is to get all of the stock absorbed by the time the timer says 22 minutes. You may need to turn up or down the heat based on how much time is left. I usually keep mine on high the whole time and just stir it constantly. 

Then stir in 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese. 

Add 6 or 7 sprigs of Tyme. 

Add in your mushrooms and salt and pepper to taste. 

This should give you a very creamy and rich tasting dish!