"Comfort Food" shouldn't make you feel sick... Not Yo Mama's Greek Salad Recipe!

"Comfort food" is a category that often brings thoughts of cheesy, saucy, fatty, bacon stuffed, seriously heavvvvvvyyyyy meals.
Why is that? Since when is it "comfortable" to not be able to sit up straight or keep your pants buttoned by the end of a meal.
I mean really... who in their right mind thinks that is enjoyable??

Comfort is a relative term, but for me, the idea of feeling stuffed to the brim after a meal is stressful.
I know that I won't feel good the rest of the day. I'll wake up the next day with a weird food hangover that's going to take 2 days worth of good workouts and extra clean eating to get over... it's just really not worth it.
Don't get me wrong, I love mac & cheese as much as the next girl... but I love 3 or 4 bites of it, and savor those bites and then move on to the food that is going to feel good not only in THAT moment, but in all the moments that follow.
I control how I feel, and I want to make as many choices as possible to help me feel great!

Here is MY idea of "comfort food":
-fuels my body
-tastes great
-fills without stuffing
-doesn't take all day to make
-helps me relax

It's really that simple.

There are certain "comfort" meals that make a weekly appearance in our dinner menus-- and it's okay, because they are still mostly healthy despite their ability to warm your heart and soothe the soul!

WE ARE HUMANS AFTERALL!
I'm not going to pretend like every meal we eat is perfect, but 80% of the time it's pretty stinking close.

We love grilled meat in our house... it's fast, there is very little clean up, and the grill adds so much flavor that you really don't need that much extra seasoning.
But grilling is not my idea of comfort food.

When I want something to soothe my soul a little more than your average grilled chicken, I need it to come from the oven, and sometimes I need it to be breaded and juicy and wonderful.

Here is a recipe that is a staple in our home :)
I hope you guys love it!

Not Yo Mama's Greek Salad

Serves 1 (multiply ingredients as necessary for more servings)

.... because you don't always have another person to cook for, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to eat a beautiful meal. 

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

CHICKEN:

1 chicken breast

1.5 TBS Caesar salad dressing

1/4 c. Italian Breadcrumbs

1/4 c. Panko Breadcrumbs

1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

1. Rinse chicken breast, pat dry, and cut into 1.5 inch slices. 

2. Sprinkle chicken lightly with salt and pepper, mix with salad dressing in a bowl. 

3. Mix both types of breadcrumbs and the parmesan cheese in a separate bowl. 

4. Dredge chicken in mixture, making sure that all sides are lightly covered.

5. Lay chicken on a tin foil-lined baking sheet.

6. Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes (I check them at 15, if the crumbs haven't started to brown up I give it a couple more minutes.)

While the chicken is cooking...

SALAD:

1/2 bag of precut hearts of Romaine lettuce

6 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

1/3 cucumber, cut into pieces

6 olives

1 oz feta cheese

optional additions: red onion-thinly sliced, slivered almonds

DRESSING:

2 TBS extra virgin olive oil

1 TBS balsamic vinegar

1 tsp honey

1/2 clove garlic, pressed

1/2 tsp dried basil (or sometimes I use pesto if I've got it in the fridge)

note: this will probably make more dressing than you need... don't feel obligated to use all of it. Save it for tomorrow's salad! Adjust flavors as you see fit-- sometimes I add a little ground cayenne pepper for a little kick! 

1. Make the salad look gorgeous on your plate ;) 

2. Put all the ingredients for the dressing in something that you can shake or whisk vigorously. You want to reeeeeeally mix it so that the oil and vinegar emulsify (the bonds break down and the two liquids mix together in this smoothly delicious concoction).

3. Drizzle dressing on the salad.

4. Remove chicken from the baking sheet, place on top of the salad (or if you're weird about your cold food touching your hot food like I am, just put in on the plate next to the salad). 

5. Drizzle dressing over the chicken.

6. TA-DA! EAT IT UP! 

Hope you guys enjoy this as much as we do!