Thirty-two years ago today, the world was graced with the birth of my dear husband. Lord love’em.
I love that he complains to the ends of the earth about my lack of desire and efforts to clean. Yet he doesn’t care enough to really help out, only enough to participate in “damage control” (i.e. not making epic disasters for no reason). So we finally hired a cleaning lady and it may be what saves our marriage (I’m only half kidding).
And let’s not talk about the most absurd reasons for never unloading the dishwasher. My personal favorite is, “I don’t use that many dishes.” I cook (and clean-up) and you eat. Who gets the short end of this stick again?
Lord love’em he’s the HARDEST person to buy for. I had actually tried to plan a surprise trip to Mexico going through the trouble of even emailing his assistant to find out his meeting and travel schedule, only to have him tell me “he’s really sick of traveling.” There went that idea.
I have probably a dozen email exchanges between my family and his, “Got any birthday gift ideas for Mark?”
Not a clue. He’s a simple, simple man I tell ya.
I harassed him all weekend, “What do you want me to make for your birthday? Faux fried chicken? Buffalo Chicken Lasagna? Fried pickles? Cupcakes? Cookies? Cake?
He waits until yesterday to email me at work, “Let’s either go out or have x, y, or z (listed above).”
My DEAR, I asked you this over the weekend for a reason. You gave me about 15 hours of notice, 6 of which were at work, 2 of which were spent driving to/from work and hockey, 1 was playing hockey, and 7 were sleeping. Oh wait, that’s 16 hours. You get my drift.
At least the birthday boy got to eat what *I* wanted last night — these salads. Of all the favorite cafe selections at the hospital, everyone looks forward to Caesar Salad with a Twist most. It is quite the hot commodity and there’s no surprise as to why. So, I just had to share it sooner rather than later. Enjoy!
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Chicken Caesar with a Twist!
Dressing:
1/3 cup light mayonnaise
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp white wine vinegar, optional
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp anchovy paste
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 tsp ground red pepper
Salad:
12 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 oz dry whole wheat rotini
2 tsp olive oil
pinch of salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
2 heads Romaine lettuce, washed and torn into pieces
2 oz Parmesan, shredded
Directions:
Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
Meanwhile, start a small pot of boiling water. Add pasta and cook 9-12 minutes, until al dente.
Add chicken to preheated grill and grill 4-5 minutes per side. Remove to a cutting board and cut the breasts width-wise into thin pieces.
While chicken cooks, combine all of the dressing ingredients and set aside.
When the pasta is cooked; drain and return to the pot. Toss with olive oil, salt, Italian seasoning, and grated Parmesan.
Toss the lettuce with the dressing and shredded Parmesan. Divide salad among 4 plates and top with 1/4 of the pasta and 1/4 of the chicken. Serve immediately.
Yield: 4 salads with ~1/2 cup pasta and 3 ounces chicken.
Nutrition Information (per serving): 395 calories; 16.8 g. fat; 68 mg. cholesterol; 612 mg. sodium; 28.8 g. carbohydrate; 7.0 g. fiber; 35.3 g. protein
Result: Mmmm! There’s a reason this is a favorite among so many — it’s comfort and healthy in one! Plus, it’s ready in no time and is a perfect way to use up leftover pasta or chicken. You could easily make this with shrimp, too! Loved everything about this meal and with all the fiber and protein, it’s a very filling meal for under 400 calories!
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After work I’ll either be grocery shopping for the birthday boy’s dinner, or heading out to his destination of choice. Happy Birthday, Mr. P. Love ya…even if you drive me mad 🙂
See you Thursday for a Q&A!
Be well,
Happy Birthday Mr. RD!
I wont complain about Matt leaving his dirty clothes on the floor at night – he’s always so good about helping with dishes and anything else in the kitchen (the only place that ever gets dirty here) …
Happy Happy Birthday Mr P!
My Mr does the same thing with the dishes. We made a deal when we got married that I would cook and he would do dishes. He will occasionally flip flop them without me asking but since I’ve worked from home, it seems our original deal has gone by the wayside and I don’t remember renegotiating!
I love pasta in salad! Makes it go a little longer in terms of satisfaction.
And happy birthday to the hubs! I hope it’s a good one!
Happy Birthday Mr. P!!
This salad looks great……..I love quick, easy and tasty! And Nicole, if you ever want to take ME on a surprise trip to Mexico, I’m NEVER sick of travelling! Ever. LOL.
Happy Birthday Mr. Prevention! Those salads look AWESOME! I love me a caesar salad…with a twist! Have a great day!
Happy birthday to Mr. P! Hooray for getting a housekeeper! Seriously, I think in 13 years my husband has cleaned the bathroom once, and emptied the dishwasher once, and hasn’t done laundry since our first year of marriage – wtf?! Now I want one!
Enjoy the celebration, whatever you decide to do!
Happy birthday Mr Prevention!!
I love the look of these salads. Caesar salad is one of my favs!!
Happy Birthday Mr. P!
Nicole, we can’t live with them and you can’t live without them 🙂 Enjoy your day!
Happy Birthday Mr. P! I think what you have there is a typical husband Nicole…lol
Love this idea for a meal. Simple and delicious!
This post was hilarious, Nicole, lol! Happy Birthday, Mr. P! What a delicious meal, and pasta on salad — how ingenious!
What is it about husbands that make them impossible to buy gifts for?? Whenever Peter wants something, he just gets it for himself, so that when his birthday rolls around, he says he doesn’t want anything. Well, duh, you already got what you wanted! 😛
Happy birthday, Mr. P! And I’ve printed this out–looks delicious!
(Psst–you’ve got a somewhat messy sentence in there; it’s the one that starts, “Remove to a cutting board . . . .”)
Ah! Thanks…fixed it! I, um, didn’t get enough sleep last night…clearly!! 🙂
I kind of feel him – I hate emptying the dishwasher too!
Love the salad – looks awesome!! Happy birthday, Mr. Prevention!
I seriously live your husband. He sounds hilarious, and when you write about him, it seems like you’re so good together. Happy Birthday to Mr. Prevention. 🙂
Eff. And by live I mean love. My fingers are too fat to type on an iPhone. 🙂
This is such a fun twist on the classic salad — I love it! Happy (belated) birthday to Mr. P…I hope he had a wonderful day! 🙂
This rocked! Thanks for this awesome recipe. Love your blog!
Karen, thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed the salad! I can’t wait to check out your blog…thanks for your comment 🙂