Chicken Caesar Salad Sandwiches

I'm always looking for things to make during the summer that don't involve the oven. 

Because I don't have air conditioning, because I can't bring myself to spend all that money for the 10 or 12 days that it's excruciatingly hot in the house. 

Because summer lasts for like 12 days in Canada. 

Except for this year apparently.  Humidex warnings (which are unheard of in my neck of the woods), temperatures over 30 degrees Celcius, non-stop sun.

Don't get me wrong - it happens so rarely that locals really do try to soak it up as much as they can. 

But it seriously makes me wish I had central air.  Even if it's only for a little while.

Big time.

Enter the slow cooker.  Or crockpot.  Or whatever your heart desires to call it. 

I got this recipe from Christy over at The Girl Who Ate Everything.  She's always thinking up creative ways to feed her growing family and her husband.  Seriously - how she manages to do it all with three rambunctious boys (four including her husband!) and her sweet new girl - I have no idea.  I'm actually stumped at how she manages it!

I will admit that I hesitated briefly when I went to make this - since the recipe calls for chicken thighs and I have a weird dislike of chicken thighs. 

They don't make sense to me.

But one day in Costco (ages ago), I lost my mind and thought "Yes!  Chicken thighs!  I'm going to buy chicken thighs!  I can do all kinds of things with chicken thighs!  Perhaps I can hide the thighs in casseroles and stuff!  Maybe a little dark meat would be good for me instead of eating chicken breasts all the time!".

Then I took them home, froze and vacuum-packed them.

And I haven't even looked in their direction since.

Enter Christy's Chicken Caesar Salad Sandwiches.

The recipe calls for 2 pounds of chicken thighs!

Thank goodness - I would have hated to throw out all the chicken thighs I bought in a fit of complete craziness.

And I decided to throw in a couple of chicken breasts just for good measure. 

Cause I like them.

I weighed out 2 chicken breasts and then added thighs until I got to 2 pounds total weight.

This recipe couldn't be easier (bless your heart Christy!).  Throw the chicken thighs in the slow cooker.

(About 40 minutes later I added the chicken breasts)

Ugh - I wish raw meat was prettier to look at.

After 4 - 6 hours (I cooked them for a total of 5 hours), remove the chicken from the slow cooker.  Christy suggests a slotted spoon - which was super easy.  Then remove any extra fat from the chicken there might be and shred with two forks.

Drain the liquid from the slow cooker bowl and return it to it's base.

Put the chicken back into the slow cooker.

Add parsley.

Then add Parmesan cheese and the pepper.

Finally, add the Caesar dressing.  I used a whole cup of dressing.

Heat through for about half an hour.

I served these sandwiches to Dee and Nate with romaine lettuce and D'Italiano buns.  For the sides I served a carrot & parsley salad and a creamy mac & cheese.

And you could also serve with a bottle of red wine that Nate can't get the cork out of until Nate tries something he saw on the Internet and it totally works.  (You're right Nate - everything you read on the Internet IS TRUE! lol!)

This was such an easy and excellent summer recipe!  The chicken was moist and tender and the Caesar flavour wasn't over the top.  We loved it!  Nate even asked for the recipe so they could have it at home!

The whole dinner was a total success.  I love it when that happens.

They were even excellent the next day!  And if you don't know much about me - know that I detest leftovers.

It's because I'm a single gal and whenever I make something I have to eat it every day for like a week.  That gets old in a big hurry.

I put a little extra Caesar dressing on the bun and it made the sandwiches extra awesome.

I highly recommend doing this.

I remember reading something about adding BACON on top of the sandwiches in the comments section of Christy's post....

I'm totally doing this next time I make these sandwiches.

Because I didn't get a name like "Baconator" for nothing.

Thank you Christy!  You helped me look like I actually know what I'm doing in the kitchen!!! 

This is the Cane girl - signing off.

Chicken Caesar Salad Sandwiches

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/2 to 1 cup creamy Caesar dressing
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Romaine lettuce
Buns

1. Put chicken in the bowl of a slow cooker and cover with 1 to 2 cups of water.
2. Cook chicken on low for 4 to 6 hours, until chicken is cooked through and shreds easily.
3. Remove chicken from slow cooker with a slotted spoon.  Drain the cooking liquid from the slow cooker bowl.
4. Shred chicken with two forks and return to slow cooker.
5. Add the Parmesan cheese, parsley, pepper, and Caesar dressing and stir to combine.
6. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes, or until mixture is heated through.
7. Serve on buns with romaine lettuce and extra Caesar dressing for garnish.

Source:  The Girl Who Ate Everything