Chinese Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing

From Simply Salads, a wonderful cookbook by Jennifer Chandler that builds on store-bought salad greens to make an incredible variety of healthy, tasty meal-sized salads!

Makes 4 dinner salads
Peanut butter lovers beware.  The dressing in this colorful and tasty salad is addictive.

For the Peanut Dressing:
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter (if you use natural you may want to add a bit of sugar to sweeten)
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh peeled ginger
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1/2 cup canola oil
A pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

For the salad:
1/2 cup Peanut Dressing
1/2 cup fresh snow peas
1 bag (5 ounces) Spring Mix salad blend
2 cups shredded cooked chicken (can use supermarket rotisserie chicken)
2 carrots, peeled and shredded on the large holes of a traditional grater
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 cup chopped roasted peanuts
2 limes, quartered, for garnish

For the Peanut Dressing:
In a small bowl whisk together the vinegar, peanut butter, ginger, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, canola oil, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

For the salad:
Bring salted water to a boil in a medium pot. Add snow peas and cook until vibrant green and crisp tender, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Drain the peas and immerse in an ice water bath to stop the cooking process. Drain again and place in a large salad bowl.

Add the salad blend, chicken, carrots, scallions, cilantro, and peanuts and toss. Add the dressing to taste and gently toss to coat.

Garnish with lime wedges.  Serve immediately.

Ground turkey, prunes, Swiss chard, and fresh herbs come together in a haute twist on meatloaf.

Turkey and Swiss Chard Terrine

Adapted from Clotilde‘s Pork and Swiss Chard Terrine (via Big City, Little Kitchen)

What I Changed (Reflected Below) and Why: I substituted ground turkey because I had trouble finding ground pork and used 20oz instead of 14oz because that’s how much came in 1one package; I used whole wheat flour instead of white flour for nutrition; I left out the bread crumbs because I didn’t have any stale bread; I used chicken stock instead of milk because I didn’t have any milk; I doubled the amount of Swiss chard because it’s so nutritious and tasty I couldn’t help it

1. Place prunes in bowl and pour over boiling water to cover; set aside and let them rehydrate.

2. Preheat oven to 350F and grease a four-cup loaf pan.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and stock; sift in flour and whisk to combine.  Add meat, onion, salt, and pepper, and mix with hand or wooden spoon until well-combined.  Fold in chard, parsley, tarragon and sage.

4. Drain the prunes and pat dry.  Pack one third of the meat mixture into the bottom of the loaf pan, and arrange half of the prunes over it.  Spread another third of the meat mixture into the pan, layer it with the remaining prunes, and add the rest of the meat, using a spatula to flatten the top.  Cover with foil and bake for one hour (after one hour, an instant-red thermometer inserted into the terrine’s center should read 160F); remove foil, switch oven to broiler setting, and broil for 5 to 8 minutes, until the top is golden-brown.

4. Let terrine cool for at least 15 minutes, then unmold and slice.  Serve slices with crusty bread and a green salad.