"Better than going out" Chicken Critter Salad

It was a long week filled with stress, sickness and just trying desperately to get back into some kind of a routine.  Friday afternoon came, I got done work a little early and hubby and I hit the trails at our favorite local park for the first run all week.  It was a shorter run than normal so we hadn't made any plans for snacks, etc to take along and when we finished, we were starving!  On the ride home we tried to decide what we wanted for dinner.  One of the places we still like to head out to every now and then is Texas Roadhouse.  I love the deep fried pickles and hubby loves the rolls and we both agree our favorite thing on the menu is the Chicken Critter Salad.  We thought of heading home, cleaning up and going out, but quickly decided that Friday night is not the night to head there, or anywhere in our town, for dinner and decided to make it at home.  I'm so glad we did!

Of course we started off with some fried pickles - easy and simple.  I drained some dill chips while I heated some oil in a saucepan and then tossed the pickles in a flour, cayenne, seasoned salt mix and fried them until crispy.  For a dip I blended ketchup, horseradish mayo, Italian seasoning blend, hot shot pepper blend and paprika.  We nibbled on these while we made the ingredients for the salad.

First, I tossed some cubed leftover bread with a blend of butter, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper and then put it in the oven at 400 degrees.  Then I made a batter of flour, milk, and seasonings for the chicken tenderloins that I'd thawed out.  I dredged the chicken in the batter and hubby fried them in the same oil we'd used for the pickles.  While he did that, I cubed 2 hard boiled eggs and washed the salad lettuce.  Once the chicken was cooked, we sliced it and put it over the egg, greens and tomatoes and put warm croutons on top.  And added just a bit of honey mustard dressing on top.  Perfection!!  We enjoyed our favorite meal without calling ahead, dealing with crowds or forking over any $.  What a great date night!  Only thing missing was the rolls, so next time I will be sure to have some dough ready to go.

One thing we don't get out very often is dessert so it was extra-special to enjoy a dessert after our meal.  I wanted to try a new recipe and I have seen Black Magic Cake on more than a few blogs, so I decided that would be perfect.  I used this recipe from Allrecipes Black Magic Cake and was excited with all of the wonderful reviews.  We weren't disappointed. Of course, it had to have a peanut butter icing because it wouldn't be a chocolate cake in our house any other way.  :)  Nothing fancy, just a Peanut Butter Buttercream essentially.  So creamy it melted in your mouth.  I wish I had a recipe, but it was more of a clean out the odds and ends to concoct a frosting sort of event - in the most delicious way possible.



I think we were so spoiled with our evening in we might have to replicate it the next time we've got a craving for our favorite salad.  Being home, enjoying working together and then having a relaxing dinner was more than worth it!