Sweet & Spicy Chicken Salad with Creamy Parmesan Dressing!

Poor Lisa Simpson…. You do win friends with Salad…. THIS Salad to be exact!!!

Some of you may recall the catchy “You don’t win friends with Salad” sing along Bart and Homer sang to Lisa. Well I am here to put an end to that Song…. because…..
This Salad is the Bomb Diggity and people will line up to be friends to get at this Salad!

The Dressing is a creamy dressing, but its very light and doesn’t over shadow the ability to taste the Grilled bread and the Grilled Chicken. You want to taste that this was from BBQ season!

What you Need:

2 chicken breast butterflied into 2 pieces each
2 handfuls of Romaine Lettuce
2 handfuls of Mixed Greens
4 slices Ciabatta croutons (Ciabatta bread garlic buttered and grilled then cut into cubes)
1/4 cup chopped Gouda Cheese
1 Avocado cut into slices
1/2 cup Tomatoes chopped (I used cocktail tomatoes so i did them in quarters)
1/4 cup Red Onions chopped however you like it… i made mine slightly chunky
1/4 cup slices almonds (Toss these in a frying pan for Toasted almonds)
Basil cut into strips (6 large leaves)
1/4 cup Creamy Parmesan Dressing (recipe below)
Sa-weeet & Spice-eh Rub-a-dub-dub spice rub (recipe below)

Sa-weeet & Spice-eh Rub-a-dub-dub

Brown Sugar
Garlic Powder
Garlic Flakes
Onion Flakes
Cayenne Pepper
Jalapeno Lime Salt
Paprika
Coarsely ground black pepper
Ground Mustard

Creamy Parmesan Dressing

1/4 cup Sour Cream
1/4 cup Mayo or Plain yogurt
3 tbs Milk
1 tbs Lemon Juice
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
1 tbs White Vinegar
finely chopped Basil (4 large leaves)
grate 1 clove of garlic
1 tsp Lemon Zest
1 1/2 tsp coarse Black pepper
pinch of salt
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Optional
- Finely chopped Jalapenos or,
- Hot Sauce or,
- Bacon & Chives

What to do:

Marinade your Chicken pieces over night in the Sa-weeet & Spice-eh Rub-a-dub-dub spice rub
The dressing does best overnight as well – so add all your ingredients together in a bowl. *Tip – Mix your Milk and Lemon juice first and let it sit for 3 minutes – you are now making Buttermilk! let this combine and then add it to the rest of your ingredients and stir!
When you ready to go for dinner, Turn on the BBQ and get your toppings cut up
Toss your chicken on the BBQ and your bread – I did one side of the BBQ slightly less hot for the bread – but because we halved the chicken breasts they will cook faster – so everything this way should be done at the same time!
Let your chicken rest for a few minutes once its off the grill – let the juices soak in! *If you cut it now… all that juicy will run out. So cut up your Bread First
Dress your lettuce with half the dressing – This will get the greens coated perfectly but not make your toppings saggy!
Now add your toppings and cut your chicken into strips or chunks and add on top with the rest of the dressing just thrown on the top
Garnish with some extra basil if you want

ENJOY Friends!