Weeknights are tough. By the time I get home I’m starving. The clock is ticking to get dinner on the table before I either eat everything in sight or rush out the door for a spin class. Quick recipes that dirty few pots and pans are essential. Enter this salad. On the table within 30 minutes of walking in the door, no joke. Unless you spend your first 15 minutes at home chatting with your cats about how their days went…just me?
The genius in this salad lies in the method for cooking the chicken and bacon. Slice boneless, skinless chicken breasts in half, creating thin chicken cutlets. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with foil (with an eye toward easy clean up) and place both chicken and bacon on a baking rack placed within the cookie sheet. Pop in to a hot oven and that’s it! No sweating over a skillet, no splatters all over the stovetop. While the chicken and bacon are cooking, prep the veggies and the simple vinaigrette. Then roll up the foil, toss it out and throw everything else in the dishwasher.
In addition to being ridiculously quick, this salad strikes a perfect balance between the cheesy, bacon-y indulgence we all crave at the end of a long day and a healthy, refreshing salad we can feel good about tomorrow. Dinner done and mischief managed.
No Sweat Cobb Salad with Dijon Herb Vinaigrette
Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced lengthwise into chicken cutlets (see this Pioneer Woman post for an example.)
2 tsp all purpose seasoning (I used Columbia Restaurant’s All Purpose Seasoning. You can also use a mixture of equal parts italian seasoning and garlic salt or seasoned salt.)
8 slices bacon
5 cups chopped Romaine lettuce
1 large tomato, chopped
1/2 large seedless cucumber, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
1/3 cup roasted red peppers
1/3 cup blue cheese crumbles
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced
Dijon Herb Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 450°. Place rack in top third of oven.
- Line rimmed cookie sheet with tin foil. Place baking rack inside of cookie sheet. Spray with cooking spray.
- Pat chicken cutlets dry. Sprinkle each side with all purpose seasoning. Place on baking rack.
- Place bacon on baking rack.
- Put chicken and bacon in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes or until chicken reaches 160°.
- Once chicken reaches 160°, remove to a plate and cover with tin foil.
- Place bacon back in oven. Bake for an additional 5-7 minutes or until bacon is crisp.
- Crumble or chop bacon once it is cool enough to handle.
- Thinly slice chicken.
- While chicken and bacon are cooking, arrange vegetables, cheese and egg in large bowl or platter.
- Arrange chicken and bacon on top of salad. Drizzle with Dijon Herb Vinaigrette and serve.
Serves 2-3
Dijon Herb Vinaigrette
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 Tbsp honey
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions: Place all ingredients in mason jar. Secure lid and shake until combined. Store in refrigerator for up to a week.
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