Apr 15, 2013 3 min read

I can’t think of a better salad for a warm day!

The boys and I spent the day outside and this salad was all I could think about making for dinner after such a warm afternoon.

We stopped at the grocery store because I only had maybe two of the ingredients at home and let me tell you, our trip was a disaster in and of itself. Our local grocer needs to get about 15 more “car” grocery carts (seriously). I ended up finding one that had two seats attached to the handle and my two boys’ bums didn’t even fit on the seats. Roman’s seatbelt was broken and Rocco looked like a 10-year-old fit into a 1-year-old’s seat, complete with food on his mouth (from God knows what … maybe something in the car?). People were staring at me as I tried to maneuver the cart through the parking lot and into the working grocery store crowd and by the time I got to the Ramen noodles aisle, the cart’s wheels gave out (as did my arms).

One woman got a good laugh at us and I almost made a bet with her that I could shop for her entire two page-long grocery list faster than she could cart my boys around and retrieve the six items I needed! She passed me before I could open my mouth.

After ditching the cart, I obviously needed help with the food and Rocco just loved throwing my Cran-Raisins in the air while Roman put my sliced almonds on the shelf without me knowing it until I got to the mustard aisle. FUN. Also, both of the boys couldn’t dodge a cart for the life of them and tripped over their $3 flip-flops at least seven times during the trip.

I was determined to make this salad and we accomplished our Chinese Chicken Salad trip in a whopping 50 minutes. Yep! 50. You’ve had one of those trips too, right? Where it takes you what feels like all day to buy a handful of items?

It was worth it, though. Look at the goodness!

Chinese Chicken Salad

Ingredients

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts: cooked and cubed

1 bag of coleslaw mix (the bag that has cabbage and carrots in it)

1 bunch of green onions, diced

1 bunch of cilantro

1 large tomato, diced

1 cup or handful of Cran-Raisins

1 handful sliced almonds

1 Package Ramen noodles (use just the dry noodles and break apart)

Dressing

(NOTE: I do not measure this dressing. I shake and taste my way through it, and it always turns out a little different but always delicious!)

1 Tbsp. stone ground mustard

1 tsp. ground ginger (or fresh)

1-2 tsp. soy sauce

2-3 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 tsp. honey

1 Tbsp. peanut butter

Olive oil

White wine vinegar

Dash of pepper

Directions

Salt and pepper the chicken and cook on a grill. Put all other ingredients in a large bowl. When the chicken is cooked, let it cool, then cube it and add to the bowl. Mix dressing separately and pour over the top of your salad. Toss everything together and serve.

Web columnist and local blogger Angelique Lorence is a mother of three boys, a Robert Morris University alumna and resident of Washington County. Visit her personal blog Where the Piggy Toes Go for this column and more on family, food, fashion and everything in between. Follow The Piggy Toes on Facebook and on Twitter: @thepiggytoes.