Crunchy Salad with Turkey Cutlets

While I was at Trader Joe's last week, I saw a new bag peeking out among the lettuces.  The Cruciferous Crunch Collection is a melange of greens like kale, broccoli slaw, red and green cabbage, and Brussels sprouts.  Cruciferous reminds me Crucifictorious, Landry's band in Friday Night Lights, and that is a major reason why I purchased this salad mix.  Being the base of my quick and healthy dinner was more of a bonus.

What you'll notice about all those veggies is that they're all super crunchy.  You'll really be working the chompers as you go through that stuff.  Like with all other raw, crunchy salad bases I knew I would need a heavier, acid based dressing to break down the greens.  I went with Trader Joe's pear champagne vinaigrette partly because it was right next to the lettuce but also because it sounded yummy.  A sweet and tangy dressing always goes well with blue cheese so I picked up some gorgonzola as well.  To build out the rest of the salad I decided to stick with the crunchy theme.  I decided to add different types of crunch.  Not all crunch is created equal and you shouldn't go on cooking thinking it is.  I added a red bell pepper because it's crunchy but also juicy in a way.  I also added pumpkin seeds for the kind of crunch that shatters a bit when you bite down.

I topped the whole thing with turkey cutlets that I covered first with egg and then with seasoned panko (I used paprika and garlic powder) and then pan fried.  The turkey was already pounded super thin so it took just a moment to cook.  Being able to add fresh cooked protein to my salad in "a moment" is a real win, especially since I mostly decided to make salad for dinner because I only first got to the grocery store at 8 pm.  Turkey is not chicken (duh).  Chicken is the usual quick-cooking protein so it was nice to mix it up a bit.