I grew up in a family who ate salad with dinner almost daily. I appreciate a good side salad situation, but as an adult, I’ve found that it feels like too much effort to pull together for one or two people. Now when I bother with salad, I usually try to turn it into an epic meal situation with lots of fun add-ins. Something like this sitch.

Chicken cutlets make for a delicious and hearty protein. Paired with your favorite crunchy vegetables and a cheese and dressing of your choice, this makes for a super satisfying and beautiful restaurant-quality salad. Definitely worthy of dinner guests or just you on a Monday night.

Tip: Cutlets are a bit of a process, but come together pretty quickly. Since you’re going through the effort to dredge the chicken, make more than you need and enjoy as leftovers.

CHICKEN CUTLET SALAD
(serves 4, or 2 with leftovers!)

Ingredients
– 8 thinly sliced chicken breasts
– 3/4 cup of flour
– 2-3 eggs
– Italian-style seasoned panko
– Seasonings (garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, Italian seasoning)
– Butter
– Olive oil
– Romaine lettuce, chopped
– Assorted veggies, chopped (cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, black olives, avocado etc.)
– Bleu cheese crumbles
– Italian or bleu cheese dressing

1. If you can find thinly sliced chicken breasts, it’s a huge time saver, but if you can only find regular chicken breasts you’ll want to slice them in half horizontally and then pound them between plastic wrap or wax paper until they’re about a 1/4 inch thick.
2. Set up your dredging station. Shallow baking dishes like pie plates work well here. You’ll need three. In the first one add your flour and seasonings. Use more seasoning than you think is wise, and then add a little more. Stir to combine.
3. In the second dish, beat the eggs with a little water.
4. In the third dish, dump the panko. Feel free to add more seasonings here as well if desired.
5. Working through the three stations, coat the chicken one by one first in the flour mixture, then the egg, then the panko making sure to coat both sides. Set aside on a clean plate.
6. In a frying pan, pour in enough olive oil to thoroughly coat the bottom of the pan and add 2T of butter. Melt over medium heat.
7. When the butter and oil starts to sizzle, add your chicken. You’ll probably be able to cook them in batches, two at a time. Cook for about 4 minutes per side until the coating is a deep golden color and the chicken is cooked through.
8. Set the cooked chicken on a wire rack over a baking sheet to keep crisp while the rest of the chicken cooks.
9. Slice the chicken and assemble the salads finishing with bleu cheese crumbles and a dressing of your choice.
10. Mangia!