Wednesday 19 March 2014

Caesar Salad With Oven Toasted Croutons and Homemade Dressing

homemade caesar salad dressing
Start with the homemade dressing. No raw eggs,fish free, and dairy free. Make it vegan by substituting vegan mayonnaise. I like 'veganaise' brand.
Doubles well and keeps for 2 weeks in the fridge.
I use this for chicken salad wraps. Recipe follows.

 1/3 cup olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
4 tbsp mayonaise
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp sugar or xylitol
1 tsp lemon juice

Mix altogether in container, I use a mason jar. I have marked the outside of the jar with permanent marker. I just add the oil right to the jar, no need to dirty a measuring cup. Whisk to combine.






Next, toast the croutons. Use whatever fresh bread or buns that you have on hand. I keep a bag of untoasted bread cubes in the freezer. Whenever I have one or two slices of bread left, I cube it and add it to the bag. No need to thaw the bread before putting it in the oven.






Place the cubes onto a baking sheet( I cover the pan with tin foil for easy clean up) Spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray or oil. Sprinkle seasoning salt and garlic powder. Put into 300 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Watch them closely. They are done when they are lightly toasted and golden brown.






My family likes this without bacon or parmesan cheese but feel free to add some if you like. Wash and dry a head or two of Romaine lettuce. I like to chop the lettuce for this salad rather than tearing it. Combine lettuce and croutons. Pour about 1/2 cup of dressing and toss to combine.

Weekday Spinoff-easy weekday meals from food prepared on the weekend

Chicken Caesar Wraps

Double the dressing and wash and dry extra lettuce. If you are grilling chicken, grill extra. Alternately, purchase a rotisserie chicken from your grocery store(remove all the meat from the chicken and refrigerate it, keep the bones in a ziplock bag in the freezer. Make chicken soup another time). Layer Chicken and Chopped lettuce onto a 10 inch flour tortilla. Top with dressing. Roll up and presto!
Supper in an instant. Everyone's fed before hockey practice.