Easy Asian Chicken Salad

As winter begins to finally fade away, my palate almost always begins to crave a lighter menu.  It may have to do with some sort of evolution:  when it is cold, we like heavier foods, packing on the pounds (oh, dear), to ensure our warmth.

Now that it at last beginning to look like Spring may arrive, it's the perfect time for fresh salads.  This recipe is simple, easy, and infused with wonderfully sweet and exotic flavors.

You will need:

Skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Orange juice
Unsalted roasted slivered almonds
Crispy dried wonton or chow mein noodles
Spring greens
Water chestnuts
Canned mandarin oranges
3-5 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil

I begin by butterflying my breasts.  Butterflying is usually preformed prior to grilling meat, but I also do it here to ensure the meat is flavorful throughout.

Place the breast meat into a bowl and pour enough orange juice into the bowl so that it nearly covers or just covers the breast.  Place in refrigerator and allow to marinate for 30-45 minutes.

Heat your oil on medium to high heat.  Season your chicken, and reserve the marinade. For this recipe, I didn't want strong or conflicting flavors to compromise the sweetness of the meat, so I used a lighter hand than I typically do.  I seasoned the meat with onion powder, garlic powder, and a bit of regular table salt.  You may also opt to use Kosher salt.

When the oil is hot, place breasts into the pan, and sear on both sides. 

When the meat is seared, but not cooked through, add approximately 1/4 cup of the orange juice you used to marinade the meat.  Reduce heat to medium and continue to heat until all liquid is reduced, and meat is cooked through.  As your meat is cooking, use this time to open your canned mandarins and canned water chestnuts.  Drain both and place into a container in the refrigerator.  Remove meat from heat and place into a clean dish and put the dish into the refrigerator until the meat is cold.

When all of the elements you placed into the refrigerator are completely cold, it's time to construct your salad.  Cut your chicken into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

For this salad, I love a spring green mix, which includes earthy and tart, semi-bitter leaves such as baby spinach and arugula. 

Toss your greens with:
your chicken, slivered almonds, wonton or noodles, mandarins, and water chestnuts.

Enjoy!  This salad is best with an Asian Sesame dressing, or a light and fruity vinaigrette such as raspberry walnut or sweet balsamic.

Variation:  If you would like to add another dimension, you can consider adding steamed, cooked edamame.  Just be sure you also cool the edamame after cooking and prior to adding.

If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,

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Easy Valentine's Day Cakes

If you are in a pinch for tonight's festivities, here is a quick and easy idea!  As usual, I will fall back on my favorite go-to cake recipe, but if you want to save even more time, a boxed cake works just as well.  To make these cakes, I used molds found at The 99¢ Store.  

Each mold includes hearts and roses.  I decided to make hearts, perfect for tea after dinner!

Begin by greasing your pans generously with shortening, and set aside.

Hershey's Chocolatetown Special Cake

You will need:

1/2 cup Hershey's Cocoa
1/2 cup boiling water
2/3 cup shortening
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups buttermilk or sour milk*
Paper baking cups

*To make sour milk:  mix 4 teaspoons vinegar plus milk to equal 1 1/3 cups.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Stir together cocoa and boiling water in a small bowl until smooth.  Set aside. Cream shortening, sugar, and vanilla together in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs; beat well. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a separate smaller bowl. Add alternatively with buttermilk to creamed mixture.  Blend in cocoa mixture.   Pour batter into your mini bundt pan leaving a 1/4 inch space for rising.  Pour the remaining batter into the springform pan.  It should be approximately one-inch thick if you use a small to medium pan.  Place mini bundt pan on a cookie sheet.  Bake bundt cakes at 350 degrees approximately 15-25 minutes or until an inserted cake tester or toothpick comes out clean. Cool ten minutes.  Remove from pan. Cool completely on a cookie cooling rack with a piece of wax paper beneath.  Set aside.

To frost these delightful little cakes, I used candy melts.  Melt the candy in a double boiler or on very low heat in a non-stick pan.

Continue to heat, stirring constantly until the candy is completely melted and smooth.

When the candy is completely melted, drizzle directly onto your cakes on the cookie rack.  Place in refrigerator until ready to serve, or until the candy congeals and hardens.  If you'd like the details on my china, you can visit the post on my blog Parsimonious Décor Darling here. 

If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,

The Marvelous Maison, a lifestyle blog hub and 

Frugal Fab Fashionista, my fashion blog hub. 

Follow me on Pinterest!!  Please be sure to kindly follow the board guidelines, as it takes time and effort to find fabulous pins across the Internet and Pinterest!  Thank you!  

Thank you for stopping by! ❤