Lunch for a week or a crowd – in 15 minutes!
If you've scrolled through this page more than once, you might have noticed that I enjoy the Asian palate. That's a bit over simplified, like there are SO MANY styles of Asian cooking – but most come down to a balance of sweet and salty and contrasting textures, all kept in somewhat a simple, pure form. Whew – enough waxing poetic – let's eat! This salad is more of an American interpretation of eastern style, bit is incredibly easy and quick. Oh, and so yummy! The recipe for Mandarin Pasta Spinach Salad with Teriyaki dressing provides a great guideline you can tweak to make your own. For starters, I wanted this for a few light meals, so I poached a chicken breast to add to the mix wink I'd used more spinach than I'd planned in the Lemon Cream Chicken, so I used kale instead. And I totally forgot to add the nuts, lol!
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I doubled the recipe and layered the ingredients into 3 quart jars – it was a little too much to eat in one sitting and too tightly packed, so I should have spread it to four... I like the jar technique – you put the dressing on the bottom, the heaviest ingredients next, and keep your greens on top. So for this: the dressing minus the oil, then the oil (I find it easier to keep the balance visually than continued shaking!),
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then the pasta, oranges,
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shredded chicken, craisins,
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and greens. Store in the fridge and they usually can last at least a week. Shake before serving (another reason four jars would have been better) and pour into/onto your serving dish. The dressing is addictive, and everyone who came into the break room today asked me what smelled so good – and THAT was before they got a good look!
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Gorgeous, isn't it? The sweetness of the fruit against the saltiness of the teriyaki... The tender chicken, the crunchy kale... A touch of heat from some red pepper flakes would put this over the top! All that with virtually no effort – a winner indeed cheesey

Posted by Linda :
Wednesday 27 April 2016 - 00:58:54
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