Chinese Chicken Salad

Story:
My mom got this recipe from a family friend Julie R. (mother of my friend Traci U.).  I think my family discovered the delicious-ness of this recipe when I was in high school. It's been a family favorite ever since.

I remember making this a few times for my roommates back in the college days when we took turns for Sunday dinners.  For some reason this afternoon, as I was putting the salad together, I was feeling a little nostalgic for the good times at "The Riv."  Here's to you: Em, Lee, & Tiff!

Ingredients:
Salad:
1 head cabbage, sliced thinly
1/2 C sesame seeds, toasted in butter
1/2 C sliced almonds (I like to toast these too.. with a little sugar)
4-8 green onions, chopped
2 pkgs ramen noodles, crushed (no seasoning)
2-3 chicken breasts, cooked & cubed or shredded

Dressing:
3/4 C rice vinegar
1/2 C (+2 T) peanut oil
4 T sugar
1 t "accent" seasoning
1 t salt
1 t pepper

Directions:
Mix dressing ingredients. Stir well.
Prepare all salad ingredients and put in a large serving bowl.
Pour dressing over salad and stir very well to mix thoroughly.

Notes:
Tonight I made it with the chicken pulled off of a Costco rotisserie chicken... delish!
This salad is as good (if not better) the next day.

Honey-Lime Fruit Salad

Story:

This one is another magazine or advertisement cut-out. They were selling "DOLE" products in the ad. I can tell, because they said to use DOLE products, of course.

I made it for the first time a few years ago, and I remembered it being tasty. So tonight when Ben's co-worker and his family came over for a little Memorial Day cookout, I made it again. It was good, so I thought I'd add it here. (Thanks for coming over, Mike and Megan! Eli is a darling little thing and Gretchen was crying to see Sophie leave!)

Ingredients:

1 can pineapple chunks (drained, reserve 1/4 C of juice)

1 can mandarin oranges (drained)

Bananas, sliced

Strawberries, sliced

Kiwi fruit, sliced

Dressing:

Pineapple juice (1/4 reserved from can)

1/4 t grated lime peel

2 T lime juice

1 T honey

Directions:

Combine all fruit in a bowl.

Prepare dressing and pour over fruit... then just toss gently!

Notes:

I just zested the peel of one lime and squeezed the juice out. One lime is all it took!

Wingers Salad

Story:

Lalalalala!! I am so happy! I have discovered a new (easy!) favorite salad. Everyone liked it, it was easy, and sooo yum. It tasted so good that I didn't even want to stop to take a picture!

Ok, so in Utah, there is a restaurant called Wingers. It, of course, is famous for its spicy wings. On my friend Amie's blog, I saw a copy cat recipe for the "hot sauce" that Wingers puts on their wings. (Click here for the post on Amie's "Sisters Always Simplifying" blog.)

My sister Suzanne and her family love Wingers, so I told her about it and she tried it out and reported that the sauce was fabulous on chicken breasts on a salad. My friend and neighbor Jessica W. said they tried it with chicken nuggets, and they said it was good... so here's my new favorite dinner/salad:

Ingredients:

lettuce and spinach, washed and cut for a salad

breaded chicken (however many for your family) (I buy the Tyson frozen ones from Costco)

Ranch dressing packet (Make according to the package directions, except use buttermilk instead of milk)

2 T water

3 T Frank's Hot Sauce

3/4 C brown sugar

Directions:

Prep the Ranch dressing. Refrigerate.

Bake nuggets according to package directions. After cooking, slice into little strips.

For the sauce: In a pot, bring water, Frank's hot sauce, and brown sugar to a boil (to melt the sugar), stirring occasionally.

Pour the hot sauce over the chicken nuggets and mix to coat. Note: I only put sauce on half the nuggets... the hot sauce was too spicy for the kids. But the kids loved the plain nuggets on the salad.

To serve: just put a bunch of lettuce/spinach on the plate, sprinkle on chicken nuggets (plain or spicy), then pour the buttermilk Ranch over the top.

Note:

I found that because the chicken was spicy, I ate a LOT of greens with the chicken to mellow out the spice. Hope you love it!!

Summer Salad

Story:

I have a "salad spinner" and I love it; I've had it for years. It's great to wash up some lettuce in it, spin it dry, and then I always have clean, crisp lettuce ready to throw on a sandwich or on a plate for a quick salad. Anyway, this recipe for a "Summer Salad" came with the SoftWorks Salad Spinner when I bought it. It sounded good, so I tried it. It's become a fave.

Ingredients:

Salad

mixed salad greens

strawberries, sliced

3 kiwis, peeled and sliced

1/2 C dried cranberries

Dressing

1/4 C red wine vinegar

1/2 C olive oil

3/4 t salt

1/2 C sugar

Topping

1 C slivered almonds

1/3 C sugar

Directions:

For the salad: Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.

For the dressing: Combine all ingredients, shake well, and pour over salad.

For the topping: Heat almonds and sugar in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until sugar melts. Stir until almonds are coated. Remove from heat and let cool. Sprinkle almonds over the salad.

And, well, there you have it. Enjoy!

Notes:

The original recipe called for a cubed mango, too. That just seemed a little too much sweetness, even for me...

Also, note that the almonds probably don't need to be sugar-coated... though they are really good. Also, when I do prepare them, it always takes longer than I remember it's going to. So when you prepare the salad, probably start with the almonds first. Then they can cool while you do everything else. Just a simple little tip.

Spicy Honey Chicken Salad

Story:

All I can say is, "Soooo good." I am so glad that I happened upon this recipe on good friend Becky D's blog. Click here for the link to the recipe on her blog. She actually got it off of a cooking blog she follows, so click here for the original recipe on "Our Best Bites."

I saw it on her blog, and trusting Becky the way I do, I just had to try it ASAP. I even trusted her enough to try it (untested) on my little dinner group. Two of the three families loved it. (And the third just hadn't made it yet, last time I checked.) I made it... and I was absolutely drooling over it. It's definitely a fave!!

Please note that most of the instructions you read below come from "Our Best Bites." (I'll put my comments in parentheses.)

It looks a little confusing at first glance, but it's really pretty simple. And the other day for lunch, I didn't have any of the chicken, but I made the salad without chicken (just lettuce, mango, avocado, and the dressing) and it was fabuloso.

Spicy Honey Chicken
Ingredients:

8 boneless chicken thighs (Our Best Bites swears by the thighs. I used thighs, and they were yum. Becky says breasts work fine too. I want to try it with tenderloins next time.)

2 t vegetable oil

For the Rub:

2 t garlic
2 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t coriander
1 t kosher salt
1 t cumin
1/2 t chipotle chili powder; for extra heat, increase chipotle or add ground red pepper

For the Glaze:
1/2 C Honey
1T Cider Vinegar

Directions:
Combine the rub spices in bowl and mix well.
Use kitchen shears to trim off any excess fat from the chicken pieces. Pat dry.

Drizzle oil over chicken and rub in with your hands to lightly coat all the pieces.

Then toss chicken with the spice rub to coat all sides well.

Use your hands and get in there!

Grill chicken a few minutes on each side, until cooked through.

While chicken is cooking, warm honey in the microwave so it's not so thick.

Add the vinegar and combine well. Reserve 2T honey glaze for later.

Take the rest and brush on chicken (both sides) in the final moments of grilling.

I'm gonna warn you that this can make a hot mess, literally. It's sugar, and it's gonna drip. But the smelly smoke is worth it for a minute or two. Just leave your grill on for a few minutes after the chicken is done to burn off any excess glaze. It's totally worth it once you taste this stuff.

If you don't have a bbq, try it on an indoor grill pan or use your broiler. Just be sure to open a window in case you burn your glaze!

Remember how I had you reserve that extra couple tablespoons of glaze? Ya, drizzle that on top now. You're taste buds will thank you.

Honey-Citrus Vinaigrette
Ingredients:
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 T grated onion
1/3 C fresh orange juice
3T fresh lime juice
1T honey
1 t cumin
1/2 t salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
1/2 C vegetable oil

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a tightly sealed jar and shake your bootie (and the jar) vigorously.

Store in the fridge, and shake before dressing salad.

Spicy Honey Chicken Salad
1-2 heads Romaine or Red Leaf Lettuce
2 ripe but firm mangoes, chilled
2-3 ripe but firm avocados
Spicy Honey Chicken
Honey-Citrus Vinaigrette

Directions:
This serves 4 large salads or 6 smaller sized ones.
While chicken is grilling, wash lettuce and divide among serving plates. Slice avocados and mangoes and place them on top of the lettuce. When chicken is finished, let it sit for 5 minutes before slicing to preserve the juices. Then slice it up and divide among the salads. Drench it all in the Honey-Citrus Vinaigrette and pretend you're at a fancy restaurant!

Sarah's Best Chicken Pasta Salad

Story:
I've mentioned Sarah E. before on this blog. I love Sarah! She lived across the street from me in UT and we were great buddies. This is her recipe. I remember I first had her chicken salad at a baby shower that she hosted in her home.... and, sadly enough, I remember this salad more than anything else from that morning! I made it when we had lots of family over after Gretchen received her baby blessing. I also made it for a Relief Society Birthday Dinner (when I was the enrichment leader.) Basically, it makes quite a bit and it's been a hit every time. So I hope you like it too...

Ingredients:
4 C cooked and salted shredded (or cubed) chicken
3 C (uncooked) medium pasta shells: Cook, drain, and chill
2 C red grapes (I usually slice 'em in half)
2 C diced celery
2 C diced red apples
1 small can crushed pineapple
1/4 C sliced green onions
1 1/2 C cashews (bits or whole)
1 C mayonnaise
1 C coleslaw dressing (Sarah's aunt says that it's best with Best Foods or Hidden Valley brands)

Directions:
Start with cooking the chicken and the pasta.
Then just add to a big bowl: the cooked chicken, the cooked pasta shells, grapes, celery, apples, pineapple, and onions-- and mix all that up. (It's best to do this the night before, and keep it in a ziploc bag in the fridge overnight... gives the flavors a chance to blend. Also, the juice from the pineapple keeps the apples from browning.)
Then, before serving, mix (in a separate bowl) the mayo and the coleslaw dressing. Add the mayo/dressing and the cashews to the chicken/salad mixture right before serving.
It would look pretty served on a lettuce leaf, but I usually serve it up in a big fat croissant to make a chicken salad sandwich! Yum!

Note:

• I have started putting the chicken in the crockpot the day that I'm going to make this salad... and then I just shred the chicken. It's easier for me than baking and cubing it... especially if I'm making a double batch. Also, I usually make it in the summer, and this way I don't have to turn on my oven.
• I'm not a big "nut" fan, but these cashews are great in it! And Sarah said that she's forgotten them before, and the salad isn't quite salty enough.
• Kentucky Friends: For anyone here in my neck of the woods, the only grocery store I've found that carries the HV brand of coleslaw dressing is Crestwood Supermarket. Let me know if you find it cheaper than $3.99 anywhere else!