Chinese Chicken Salad, gluten & dairy free

 I love Chinese Chicken salad and I especially loved the old recipe I had. Unfortunately it called for Top Ramen noodles and the Oriental Spice pack that comes with them. I know the noodles have gluten in them and can pretty much guarantee that spice pack has gluten as well as tons of msg and all sorts of other stuff that has an infinite shelf life, so I knew I couldn't use that recipe. 

I did some searching and came across a recipe on cooks.com that looked pretty good and I changed it a little bit so it'd be just right. It was soooo good, Kevin loved it too. I think it is equally as good as my old recipe, if not better. Plus it doesn't have an infinite shelf life, which I think is a plus:) 

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into chunks (I poached mine)
• 3 tbsp gluten free teriyaki sauce
• 1/2 head iceberg lettuce
• 1/2 head cabbage
• 3 stalks green onion, I used the green & white parts
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
• 3 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• 1/4 package maifun noodles (cook according to package directions, these are messy but so fun to watch puff up and cook, my whole family was quite entertained!) I used the Sun Luk brand, found them at Fred Meyer in the Asian food section. 

Dressing:

• 1/8 c sesame oil (I didn't have any, just used Omega 3 Vegetable oil)
• 1/8 c grapeseed or olive oil 
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 3 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Cook chicken and cut into chunks. While preparing the salad toss the cooked chicken with teriyaki sauce and let cool. 
2. Wash and chop lettuce and cabbage and mix together. 
3. Add sliced green onion and cilantro. 
4. Toast sesame seeds & almonds (I toasted them together at the same time). Let cool, then mix in with salad. 
5. Make dressing, set aside. 
6. Make maifun noodles according to directions. Let cool on a paper towel for a few minutes. 
7. Toss salad together and add maifun. 
8. This salad is best served cool, enjoy! 

Bean Salad

This morning I was watching the Today show and they were talking about 4 foods we should all be eating more of. They said salmon, beans, spinach, & eggs. Well Lauren & I both had allergy reactions to eggs on our panels so we try not to eat too many of those. But the other 3 are all things we love but probably don't eat as much as we should. So while at Costco today I was on a mission to get more beans & salmon. I came across this and was pretty excited. This salad is labeled gluten free, comes in a glass jar so no worries about the BPA in cans, & it was low in price (about $6 I think). I opened it as soon as we got home to take a bite and I loved it! So did Kevin. I haven't tried it on the kids yet but it is pretty sweet (does have sugar in it) so I have a feeling they will like it too.

Grape & Quinoa Salad

I found this recipe in the Costco cookbook that they give out every holiday season. It is always a favorite whenever I serve it to friends and family.

• 3 cups cooked quinoa, cooled
• 1 1/2 cups red & green seedless grapes, cut into quarters (I half them because quartering them just takes too much patience.)
• 1/2 cup dry roasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped (I use pine nuts instead because they are easier to find and so good!)
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion
• 1/4 cup canola oil (I always use the kind of Omega 3 so I feel a little better about this much oil.)
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp sugar (I think agave nectar would work well too, I keep meaning to try it but haven't yet.)
• 1/4 tsp salt

Mix quinoa, grapes, nuts, & green onions in medium bowl and set aside.

In small bowl, whisk canola oil, lemon juice, sugar, and salt.

Pour dressing over quinoa mixture & stir.

Refrigerate 30 minutes prior to serving.

Serves 6 as a side dish.

* I added chicken to this once to make it more of a meal and my family loved it!