Best Salad Ever!

Cooking this weekend was super easy for me, although it took quite a long time. The main dish (Rich Herb and Lemon Chicken) had to simmer for an hour, leaving me plenty of time to prepare all the other dishes. The chicken turned out to be sooooo tasty (probably because of the white wine in the sauce) that I was sure this dish would be the highlight. Turns out I was completely wrong! Instead, the attention grabber this week is my special Caesar Chicken Potato Salad. It is so good, you guys should really make this one at home.

Dish # 1 - Caesar Chicken Potato Salad

Serves 4 Time to Prepare 10 min Cooking Time 20 min

4 cups quartered small white or red potatoes
3/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 (10 ounce) package mixed salad greens
1 small red onion, sliced and separated into rings
3/4 cup Caesar salad dressing
1/3 cup croutons
2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, in a skillet, saute chicken in oil for 5-10 minutes or until tender. Drain potatoes; add to chicken.
Place greens and onion in a serving bowl. Top with chicken mixture. Drizzle with dressing; sprinkle with croutons and Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

My experience:There were some minor substitutions in the way I prepared this salad. I used the regular (nor red) onion and Cheddar cheese instead of Parmesan. I cubed the chicken from the main dish when it was ready, and added to the salad, instead of doing it as the instruction says above. It was a great choice, but I must confess that it was unintentional - I simply forgot to set aside some chicken for the salad when I started cooking the main dish. Anyway, the cooked chicken from the main dish tasted really well in this salad.
Our verdict: By far, one of the best salads we have ever eaten. Tasted great even on the next day.

Dish # 2 - Souper Easy Mac 'n' Cheese

Serves 4 Time to Prepare 5 min Cooking Time 20 min

1 (10.75 ounce) can Campbell's® Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup
1/2 (10.75 ounce) can milk
1/2 (10.75 ounce) can water
1 cup uncooked corkscrew-shaped pasta

Heat the soup, milk and water in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat to a boil.
Stir the pasta in the saucepan. Reduce the heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes or until the pasta is tender, stirring often.

My experience: I have no idea why the recipe instructs to cook pasta that way. I think it would be easier to cook it separately at least half way, and then add the rest of the stuff. I followed this instruction, and had to stir the full 20 minutes to avoid pasta getting stuck at the bottom, and then had to add a cup of water. The end result was ok, but not really the best soup. I think if I ever do this again, I would want to add some ham, just for flavor. What else do you think could work with this recipe?
Our verdict: Very cheesy soup :) It lacked some flavor, but overall not too bad.

Dish # 3 - Rich Herb and Lemon Chicken

Serves 4 Time to Prepare 15 min Cooking Time 1 hour 5 min

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups white wine
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sour cream

Place each chicken breast between two sheets of heavy plastic (resealable freezer bags work well) on a solid, level surface. Firmly pound the chicken with the smooth side of a meat mallet to a thickness of 1/2 inch. Sprinkle both sides of the flattened chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet with a cover over medium heat. Pan-fry the chicken breasts for about 2 minutes on each side, until the chicken is golden brown but not cooked all the way through. Remove the chicken and set aside.
Place the onion and garlic in the skillet, and cook and stir for about 3 minutes, until the onion starts to turn translucent. Pour the white wine and chicken broth into the pan, and bring to a simmer while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Whisk in the rosemary and thyme leaves, lemon juice, lemon zest, milk, and sour cream until the sauce is well mixed.
Place the chicken breasts back into the skillet; cover with the sauce, Cover the skillet, and simmer for about 1 hour, until the sauce is thickened. Serve chicken with sauce spooned over the top. Serve with mashed potatoes.

My experience: I did not have to pound the sorry chicken - bought it all sliced up just as I needed :) The rest is kinda self-explanatory. It was fun to watch how all the herbs, milk, sour cream and wine mixed together. For a moment, the pan looked like a soup, but after about 50 min, the sauce almost evaporated, and all that flavor was absorbed by the chicken pieces.
Our verdict: Wow!!! Rosemary and thyme leaves worked really well in this recipe. Wine as well. At the end, the chicken was so soft, and so packed with flavor. Really proud of this recipe.

Dish # 4 - Mango-Pineapple Smoothie

Serves 3 Time to Prepare 5 min

1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
1/2 banana, sliced
1 mango - peeled, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup nonfat milk
2 tablespoons cream of coconut

In a blender, blend the vanilla yogurt, pineapple juice, banana, mango, milk, and cream of coconut until smooth.

My experience: After a whole hour of cooking, this was a breeze. Very simple to make.
Our verdict: Perfect!