Dinner Tonight

I saw this healthified asian salad from TheSkinnyFork.com this afternoon and decided I wanted to try it, or something like it for dinner.  Here is what I did:

SALAD - TOSS TOGETHER IN A LARGE BOWL:

• 1/2 bag of rainbow salad mix (cauliflower, broccoli, carrots and cabbage)
• 1 head of romaine lettuce, shredded
• One handful of craisins
• One large can of mandarin oranges, drained
• One handful chopped cilantro (and more for garnish)
• Juice of one lime
• One palm full of black sesame seeds

FOR THE DRESSING:

• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp. canola oil
• 3 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. smooth peanut butter
• 2 Tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
• 1 large garlic clove, grated
• Pinch of red pepper flakes

Top with cooked shrimp and more cilantro. The peanut butter made me think of pad thai, which made me think of shrimp.  And large shrimp were on sale, so I grabbed a half pound. But this would be great plain, with grilled chicken, even leftover rotisserie chicken.

I will say, I had a bunch of dressing left over. I only used about 1/2 the dressing. I stored the veggies separate so I could assemble the extra salad and dressing tomorrow for a leftover side salad. (Minus the shrimp and oranges.)  I served it with crunchy toast, but some chopped peanuts sprinkled over top would be good for added crunch. 

I highly recommend trying this. It was sweet and savory and a little spicy.  It was crunchy, herbaceous and really fresh. Delicious! We will definitely have this again. I like recipes like this that can be varied easily and are good in the winter, but fell like a light summer meal.