Breaded Chicken Cutlets with Orange and Arugula Salad

I’m not joking when I say that this recipe is ridiculously good!  I can’t take credit for this one since it is actually a Rachel Ray recipe, but man, I had to blog about it because my husband and I just loved all the flavors.

This recipe has the perfect balance of sweet, tart and savory all in one bite.  Serve it with mashed or roasted potatoes and you have a meal that is fit for entertaining (or an easy weeknight dinner).

I’m not going to post the recipe here, since I can take credit for it, but you can find it HERE.  I will, however, tell you the minor changes I made that you might want to give a whirl if you decide to give this recipe a go (which I highly recommend).

I breaded the chicken pretty much the same, however; I used panko bread crumbs instead of regular.  You can find panko bread crumbs in most major grocery stores in the same section as the regular ones.  I find they add a crunch to breading that really can’t be beat.  The orange zest is key in this breading, so don’t leave it out even if you think it sounds strange.

For the orange and arugula salad, I made a vinaigrette from 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 Tablespoons orange juice, 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard, salt and pepper.  I used small tangerines instead of regular oranges which made assembling this dish really easy.  Arugula has a very peppery, bitter flavor when tasted on its own.  Personally I don’t love it by itself, but pair it with something sweet or savory and the balance of flavor is amazing.

I served our chicken cutlets with homemade mashed potatoes.  We had some leftovers and it was equally as good the next day.  So cook up some extra cutlets and have some chicken to use in other dishes throughout the week.  If you don’t like arugula or don’t have any on hand, the chicken cutlets by themselves are still very good.  But if you can, go for the salad on top – it is diviiiiiiine!