Asian Spinach Salad

Toss together:
1 small bag of spinach
8 oz. bowtie pasta (cook, strain, cool)
2-4 Tbsp. Sesame seeds
1/2 C. Sunflower seeds
1 can sliced water chestnuts
3 chicken breasts - season heavily with lemon pepper, grill and cut into bite size pieces
(I didn’t have lemon pepper, so I cooked the chicken on the stove top with olive oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, S&P and that worked nicely as well)
1 C. bean sprouts
(I also added green bell pepper and green onion b/c I had them and they were yummy)
Dressing:
1/2 C. Canola oil
1/2 C. sugar
1tsp salt
1 tsp sesame oil
3 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp Seasoned Rice vinegar (unseasoned works too)
1/2 tsp sesame SEED oil
1 tsp grated fresh garlic
store in fridge. Return to room temp before combined.

I got this recipe from thisweekfor dinner.com. All of the parentheses notes are from the website. I didn't add green pepper or the green onion. I also did not have sesame SEED oil. I did have the lemon pepper. This recipe was DELICIOUS! I will definitely make it again. My husband really liked it too, and he can be kind of picky sometimes. This is best the day it is made because the dressing, if left on the salad, seems to kind of loose its flavor the next day.

Chinese Chicken Salad

1/2 lb teriyaki chicken, shredded
1 head lettuce, sliced thin
2 tbs shopped almonds
2 tbs sesame seeds
2 oz wonton or rice sticks

Dressing
2 tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup salad oil
1 tbs sesame oil
3 tbs rice vinegar

Put dressing ingredients in a blender or whisk together

Wonton or rice sticks: Heat oil over med-high heat. Drop small piece of rice stick into hot oil. If if puffs up without burning, the temperature is right. Do a small amount at a time.

Lumpias(Filipino Eggrolls)

1 Tb vegetable oil
1 lb ground beef
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½ C chopped onion
½ C minced carrots
½ C chopped green onions
½ C thinly sliced green cabbage
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp soy sauce
30 eggroll wrappers
2 cups vegetable oil for frying

Place a wok or large skillet over high heat, and pour in 1 TB veg. oil. Cook hamburger, stirring frequently, until no pink is showing. Remove meat from pan and set aside. Drain grease from pan, leaving a thin coating. Cook garlic and onion in the same pan for 2 minutes. Stir in meat, carrots, green onions, and cabbage. Season with pepper, salt, garlic powder, and soy sauce. Remove from heat and set aside until cool enough to handle.
Place three heaping tablespoons of the filling diagonally near one corner of each wrapper, leaving 1 ½ inch space at both ends. Fold the side along the length of the filling over the filling, tuck in both ends, and roll neatly. Keep the roll tight as you assemble. Moisten the other side of the wrapper with water to seal the edge. Cover the rolls with plastic wrap to retain moisture.
Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat, add oil to ½ inch depth and heat for 5 minutes. Slide 3 to 4 lumpias into the oil. Fry the rolls for 1 to 2 minutes, until all sides are golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately.

Oriental Sesame Chicken Salad

2 tbs Sesame Seeds
1/2 cup slivered almonds
2 packages ramen noodles, smashed
2 cups shredded lettuce
4 chopped green onions (optional)
1 small grated carrot
1/2 pound cooked, shredded chicken

Toast almonds, sesame seeds and noodles under the broiler until golden brown. Add rest of ingredients and mix together.

Dressing

3 tbs rice vinegar
3 tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
seasoning packages from ramen noodles
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Blend ingredients together, top over mixture and chill for at least 3 hours.

My comfort food!

Lettuce Wraps

I found this recipe in the newspaper a few years ago. I have modified it a little. The original recipe called for both vegetable and sesame oil. I didn't see why the step using veggie oil was neccesary, so I omitted it completely with great results. I have taught how to make this dish at my cooking club and it has gotten great reviews. We serve these with egg rolls. (Not homemade ones!) 8 servings.

2 1/2 lbs. ground turkey(or beef)

2 lg. red pepper, diced(green or yellow work just fine too)

1 bunch green onions, minced( use the green and onion portion)

1 C hoison sauce(found in asian food aisle)

2 tbsp. sesame oil(light, dark or toasted all work)

1-2 tsp. chili garlic sauce(found in asian food aisle, VERY spicy!The original recipe called for 1 tbsp. Not good for kids! 1-2 tsp. gives a little zip that my kids eat just fine.)

1 C dry roasted peanuts, chopped(Put them in a sandwich bag. Let out all air and pound with rolling pin or any flat object. Works so much faster than anything i've ever tried.)

2 tbsp. minced garlic

1 lg. head romaine lettuce( cut off the hard part on bottom and you now have your wraps!)

In lg. saute pan add sesame oil, garlic, peppers and turkey. Cook over med-high heat until turkey is almost done. Add onion, hoison sauce, chili garlic sauce, and peanuts. Turn heat down to low-med. and let simmer for 10 min. Serve with romaine lettuce leaves. Eat it like a taco. The very inside leaves of romaine lettuce are very small. For my small kids I take those and put a scoop of turkey mixture over those and let them chow down with a fork. Much easier for small hands:0)