STOP THE PRESSES!

STOP THE PRESSES!

Pretty much how I felt today in the form of an adorable 3 year old....

  Did someone say I'm going to be on TV..... like not just as a bystander that walks by the TV?

Commence nauseous, heart pounding, palms sweating....

Trying to keep my cool and from not totally peein' my pats from nervousness, but excited to share some of my recipe with the GREAT city of Indianapolis. 

For any Indiana readers, tune in to Indy Style on Channel 8 (WISH-TV) at 9am to watch me make a fool of myself cook some #MeatlessMonday dishes for you to give a go! ;)

Source

I got a tweet last night, and thought, surely this isn't what I hope it is... 

Then a call today that had me with the deets shrieking while leaving the office.... and then calling my husband shrieking with excitement followed by.... OH-MY-GOSH-WHAT-AM-I-GOING-TO-DO? followed by.... GOSH-I-HOPE-DON'T-CHOP-MY-FINGER-OFF? followed by.... what in the world am I going to choose to make, commencing-mind-flooding... followed by, I seriously have to actively realize every time I say "um" because I do wayyyyyyy to much in calls, meetings, etc.... 

As you can tell, my brain has it fair share of a workout today!

Anyhow, Alex brought me home a bottle of my very fav' "champagne" Korbel (I know true foodies would laugh at callin' cheapo Korbel the 'real deal,' but you gotta give it props for being so good and oh-so affordable), and we gonna' celebrate this beyond nerve-wracking exciting opportunity.... Oh, and he brought me a favorite sucker... Weirdo combo, but it's the thought that counts! <3

.... and then back to the panic I go! Good thing I'm working from home tomorrow cause' gheesh was my mind in 50000000x places once today!

Since we're talkin' about the lovely world of vegetarian cooking, let's tell the story of

 a girl who LOVES wraps....

I LOVEEEEE wraps. Let's just put it out there, MMMM-kay?! However, I'm rarely not always good at making them and am often disappointed when I order them at restaurants. In my harsh opinion, they always end up under-dressed (most common) where I'm needing to dip it in something... all the while the insides of the wrap come flying out and you're shoving it all back in.... OY VEY! Lived that story a few too many times, at restaurants and at time.  

... Or sometimes overdressed where I feel like I wash my face in the sauce!... No good either....

So I was craving a wrap... yet again... with a nice a Caesar side salad, then thought to myself....

HELLLLLLOOOOOO Katie??? a Chik'n Caesar Salad Wrap?! DUH!

Best of both worlds ma' friends!

.... And for my fellow veggie friends, just to set the record straight, many Caesar dressings, both creamy and vinaigrette are made without anchovies, just check the label!.....

Chik'n Caesar Wrap 
Slightly adapted from Iowa Girl Eats
Serves 2-3

In the line up!

- 2 Naked Chik'n Cutlets 
- Nonstick spray
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and pepper
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 wraps or flour tortillas (burrito size)
- 1 1/2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 1/2 cup sliced onions
- 1/4  cup diced cucumbers
- 1/2 cup halved or quartered cherry tomatoes
- 1/8 to 1/4 cup Caesar dressing
- 1/8 to 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
~~~
- Small handful of seasoned croutons, chopped finely
- Small handful of peanuts, chopped finely

Coach's Orders! 

1. Start by heating the extra virgin olive oil in a skillet or indoor grill on medium heat.  Prepare your Chik'n cutlets by letting them thaw a bit, then lightly coat in non-stick olive oil spray, and season with salt and pepper and let cook on until browned on each side (about 5 minutes on each side). Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

2. While the cutlet's are a-cookin' and a' coolin', chop and prep your veggies!

3. Into a large bowl, start with adding in your sliced romaine, then pile on the tomatoes, then your onions and last, but not the least, the deliciously fresh cucumbers!
Now... once the Chik'n isn't too hot (like wilt the lettuce kinda sizzlin'!)

 4. Dice up the cutlets into how large you want the cube's (or you could do strips).. All your thang now! :)

5. Very finely chop your croutons and peanuts ----->
so you have a nice background crunch without large/random chunks fallin' outta' ya' wrap!






5. Throw in the chopped Chik'n, the grated Parmesan and dress that baby up (as I said earlier, be cautious, I verrry slowwwwwly add dressing to avoid both mentioned wraps disasters above). 

6. Now mix all that yummy-ness up with a fork, salad tongs or what I consider to be your best and most cost effective kitchen gadget (assuming you've washed your hands beforehand!), your hands! Mix until veggies distribute and all is perfectly (go on the light side, as I'll mention in a sec!) coated in the delicious dressing!

LET THE WRAPPING BEGIN!......

7. Grab your wraps/tortillas and the salad mixin' and heap on a pile of that deliciously fresh salad mixture onto one side of the wrap and roll the wrap over and tuck the veggies in all snug!

8. When it's all snug-as-a-delicious-bug, keep on rollin' and then lightly slather some extra dressing at the very end to act a yummy glue to keep the wrap together, and roll unto ya' can't roll no more!

 9. Tuck in the the ends as best as you can to keep the insides from fallin' out, so I suggest cutting the wrap in half way and start your chomping at the cut :)






COMMENCE FOOD NOM!....

... At first I was skeptical of adding croutons and peanuts, but I was so right on this call (I, first of all, LOVE croutons on my Caesar salad, just a must have! Right?!), and then the peanuts added a good extra crunch + healthy fats + protein..

ONE.BITE.... Yup, perfect crunch! No dressing issues mentioned for now the 1000000x (kudos to myself!, I gotta' say ;)

Forget the fork, each bite had the perfect Caesar salad combo and just a fun twist on an old classic!

Hope you give her a go sometime!... plus this a fab "clean out the fridge' recipe for sure!

We're off to pop the bubbly Champagne =)

**Addition from comments I have received: Yes, I realize the peanuts in this mixture contain gelatin, but I also have necessary prescribed medications that  I take daily and only come in gelatin capsules (... and yes, I've asked the pharmacist and gone through pharmacies), so I cannot be as "strict" as I could be.  

Also, this blog is meant for readers from every all around: meat-eaters, flexitarians, pescatarians, vegetarians, etc. for recipe idea for people looking to cut out meat, or simply reduce meat consumption.

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