Asian Chopped Chicken Salad

On a busy weeknight, Asian Chicken Salad is one of my go-to meals.  Half of it is already prepared, so that makes it easy and quick.  I love using pre-mixed salads. At my grocery store, there are several varieties to choose from. The mix I use for this recipe is the Asian Chopped Salad by Taylor Farms. It's packed with savory cabbage, green cabbage, carrots, celery, green onions, and cilantro.  It comes with a Sesame Ginger Salad Dressing, a packet of wonton noodles, and sliced toasted almonds.  The salad can be eaten as a side dish, or you can add chicken or steak to make an entree salad.  One bag of the salad mix makes a nice portion as an entree salad for two people.

Add marinated chicken or beef to a pre-made salad for a complete meal.

For the Asian Chicken Salad, I add my own sliced Teriyaki Chicken (see marinade recipe below). Marinated flank steak would also taste great.  I marinate the chicken for about 2 hours.  Then, using a grill pan on high heat, I sear the chicken on both sides.  After searing the chicken, I place it on a baking sheet covered with foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until it is cooked all the way through.

Asian Chopped Chicken Salad. 

Since my husband eats gluten-free, I omit the wontons from his salad. 

To save time and money, I sometimes buy chicken breasts or chicken cutlets in a big bag at a wholesale club like Sam's and cook all the chicken breasts all at once. Then, I use my Food Saver to package them up to store in the freezer and save for future meals.  I just pull out a freezer bag of chicken, thaw, heat, and use for a meal.  This is such a time-saver on busy nights! 

Ingredients for Teriyaki Marinade

Teriyaki Marinade
1 cup Soy Sauce (I Use Tamari gluten-free Soy Sauce)
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce
3 tablespoons white vinegar
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon ginger (or 1 cube if you use the frozen kind - see below)

Whisk the above ingredients together. Combine thoroughly.  Use to marinate chicken, beef, or pork.  

           This is the best stuff!  It's frozen crushed ginger.  
When you need a little bit of ginger for a recipe, you just pull
 it out of the freezer and pop out a cube of ginger.

Keep checking The Teacher Dish for more easy recipes.

-Karen