It is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…

(GASP)

…OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DAGGUM H-O-T here in Florida!

It is officially time to turn off your ovens, break out your grills & ice cream makers, and make sure to keep plenty of iced tea on “tap”.

Oh and have salads EVER tasted so good as they do in the hot summer weather? I think not…

Oh man I could SO go for some crisp cold lettuce & cabbage topped with crunchy noodles, teriyaki chicken, mandarin oranges and some of the most DELIGHTFUL sweet and salty Asian style salad dressing.

I wish I new about this dressing when I had to that elementary school liquid density project (you know which one I’m talking about – the one where you had to pour as many liquids as you could into a jar and make sure that they didn’t mix but instead created different layers)… this dressing brings me right back to those days:

 … and I’ll stop with the tangent now 😉

You should seriously try this salad! It will hit the spot FOR SURE in this steamy weather! Asian Chicken Salads not your thing? No worries, I have plenty more salads for you to check out! Some personal favorites:

Apple Chip, Gorgonzola, and Pecan Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette\

Purple Cafe Greek Salad

Columbia Restaurant’s “1905” Salad

BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad

Enjoy! and stay cool, people! 🙂

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Sweet Asian Chicken Salad

Yield: 6-8 servings

This makes a LOT of salad. I typically will make the dressing and chop all the lettuce but serve it on 2 separate nights (it's great for a potluck style meal).

Ingredients:

For the Dressing:
3/4 cup light olive oil
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon water
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

For the Crunchy Topping:
3 packages Ramen Noodles, broken into small pieces NOTE: DO NOT use the seasoning packets (throw away or save for later to make a broth)
1/2 cup sliced almonds
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
3 tablespoons salted butter, melted

For the Salad:
1 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
1 small head Napa cabbage, chopped
1 bunch scallions, washed and thinly sliced
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
4 chicken breasts, marinated in favorite bottled teriyaki sauce and grilled to minimum temperature of 165ºF (cool & slice)
Dressing (Recipe above)
Crunchy topping (Recipe above)

Directions:

For the Dressing:
Whisk ingredients together well and set aside until ready to use. Refrigerate for up to 1 week.

For the Crunchy Topping:
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and combine all ingredients. Bake at 350º until golden brown (tossing mixture occasionally).

For the Salad:
Toss all ingredients together and add desired amount of dressing and serve.