Friday, July 6, 2012

Crunchy Asian Chicken Salad

Here's another yummy main dish salad I like to make in the summer. You can use a rotisserie chicken from the store, and there is absolutely no cooking involved. I boil frozen chicken breasts, and because that makes them bland, I add some dressing to the chicken and let it sit in the fridge.  If you're not going to eat all of this right away, leave the ramen noodles out and just sprinkle them on your individual serving and then mix them in. They get soggy, and then the salad isn't the same.

Crunchy Asian Chicken Salad
Dressing
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1 TBSP teriyaki sauce
3 TBSPs sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Salad
2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
1 package (3 oz) ramen noodle soup mix (any flavor)
1 bag (16 oz) coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots)
4 medium green onions, sliced (1/4 cup)
1/2 cup sliced almonds (2 oz)
2 small cans mardarin oranges, drained
Toasted sesame seeds for garnish, optional

1. In small bowl, beat dressing ingredients with wire whisk until sugar is dissolved and mixture is well blended. In a separate bowl cover chicken with 1/4 cup of dressing and toss. Place chicken and remaining dressing in refrigerator for a couple of hours.
2. Break up ramen noodles in bag before opening. Discard seasoning packet. In a large bowl add chicken, noodles, coleslaw, green onion, and almonds; mix well. Add oranges, drizzle on remaining dressing, and stir to combine. Serve immediately. Makes 8 main dish servings.




Easy 4th of July Dessert Idea

I didn't want to make a fancy dessert for the 4th this year, but I still wanted it to look festive. I made an angel food cake from a boxed mix. All you do is add water, and I think they taste better than store bought. Slice it up, add a little whipped cream, strawberries, and blueberries, and you're done!




I started to make it look like a flag, but gave up when the strawberries started tipping over.