Pastrami Wrapped Caesar Chicken – Guest Post by Kitchen Tested

Remember when my sister got engaged and I made her a super gorgeous engagement party? Well she’s getting married tonight! I know, it’s crazy! My big sis is getting married.

Anyway, while I’m off celebrating her big day, Melinda of Kitchen-Tested agreed to step in and share an incredible looking recipe with all of you. Although everything on her blog is strictly kosher, Melinda features recipes that are so innovative, you could easily think she doesn’t have any restrictions. (Think Chicken with Red Velvet Waffles…I know, yum.) She also puts me to shame somewhat because her recipes feature step by step pictures (unlike mine!) which make it so much easier to make things like her fabulous Rainbow Layer Cake!

Melinda also has a business selling the most gorgeous chocolate caramel treats, aptly named Cara-Mels. Check it out here.

And now, for the delicious recipe:

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Is Caesar salad dressing a part of your daily conversation? Well lately, it’s been a big part of mine.Homemade or bottled? Full fat or low fat? My answer is always the same: Mauzone Lite Caesar Salad Dressing is the best thing out there! It’s a fact. A fact in my world, but still a fact. It’s the only Caesar dressing I use. So in the midst of these conversations, I began to wonder if there were any new ways I could
use the dressing besides dousing lettuce with the creamy garlicky goodness. When I think of a Caesar salad, I crave cherry tomatoes, fresh herbs, croutons and I personally like to add fried pastrami over the top. With those ingredients in mind, the idea popped in to my head to wrap pastrami around chicken and bake it in the dressing. Sounds good, right? Well, it gets even better. Since most of the pastrami wrapped chicken recipes I’ve tasted are very dry, I chose to cook my chicken for 4 hours on low temperature in the oven! Dousing the chicken in Caesar dressing and smothering with herbed margarine didn’t hurt either.

Pastrami Wrapped Caesar Chicken

Ingredients:

8-10 pieces boneless chicken breast
5 Tbsp margarine, softened
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp dried minced onion
1 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
20 long slices pastrami
1-2 cups Caesar dressing

Instructions:

Using a sharp knife, butterfly the chicken breast to flatten it out. Place your hand on top of the breast. Carefully insert the knife into the thickest part of the breast, and draw it almost all the way through the breast. Make sure to keep the breast attached on one side. Open the chicken breast like a book. The chicken will now be easier to roll later on.

Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F. Mix together the margarine, garlic, onions, chives and parsley.

Spread the margarine on the inside of the chicken breast and place in a pan. Once all of the chicken breasts are rolled with the herbed margarine, wrap in two slices of pastrami.

Pour the Caesar salad dressing all over the top of the pastrami wrapped chicken.

Cover the chicken and cook for 4 hours. Raise the temperature to 350 degrees and cook for another 20 minutes.

Slice that chicken open and just for kicks, serve over a Caesar salad. Between the herbed margarine, fatty pastrami and creamy dressing, the chicken is so moist and flavorful!

Enjoy.

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Thank you Melinda, and thanks guys for stopping by! I have some more exciting guest posts from awesome blogging pals to keep y’all busy while I participate in the wedding festivities. Come back soon! -Miriam