Low Cook Summer Dinner

 This week it was very hot, so I was inspired to make a Chicken Caesar Salad and try a new no bake dessert.  We even enjoyed the dinner on our back porch. Under our shady trees it really was quite lovely outside.  Of course I lit the citronella candles in advance to keep any unwanted mosquitoes away.  The dressing for my salad was my mock Cesar salad dressing.  (See my post Mock the Cesar.) I used romaine lettuce for the salad; it really holds up well to the dressing, bacon, croutons and chicken.

After I whipped up the dressing I made the croutons from ends of bread I had in the freezer.  I cut them into 1" cubes and generously drizzled with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.  I baked them in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes.  At the same time I baked some bacon to go along with the salad.  My family really loves their protein.  

As for the chicken I grilled it with olive oil and salt and pepper on my Big Green Egg. It took about 4 minutes per side.  When everything was done at the last moment I assembled the salad.  

My daughter enjoyed the leftovers the next day.  I always keep extra dressing in its container so all you have to do is just pour over the lettuce.  The croutons also kept well for a day.

The salad ready to eat.

For dessert I found this recipe on all recipes of cheesecake in a jar. I'm really not a fan of a baked cheese cake, but this tasted more like a light Italian dessert with marscapone cheese. It called for strawberries, but they are no longer in season in the upper midwest so I used raspberries.  It was delicious and took about 20 minutes to prepare.  I just used graham cracker crumbs to make the crust. I would definitely try this with other fruits, perhaps blueberries or peaches since I have a lot of those around.  

Hope this inspires you to make some cool summer treats in the upcoming week.  Bon appétit.

With Love from the Midwest,

Beth