Ingredients
- Chicken
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/3 cup vinegar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, not packed
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 chicken bouillon cubes
- Salad
- 2 1/4 cups uncooked pasta
- 3 cups packed spinach
- 1 can Mandarin oranges
- 1 cucumber, chopped
- 1 large carrot, shredded
- 2 Roma Tomatoes, chopped
- 1/4 cup Diamond of California Sliced Almonds
- Optional: sliced green onions
- Dressing
- 1/3 cup rice vinegar
- 5 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 package dry onion soup mix
- 2 tablespoons mayo
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley, optional
The Steps
Chicken:
- Remove fat and cut the chicken into 1/2-inch cubes. In a large saucepan, combine the water, vinegar, brown sugar, vegetable oil, soy sauce, and chicken bouillon cubes.
- Turn on the heat to medium and allow the chicken to cook in the mixture until most of the liquid has evaporated and the chicken is tender and cooked through (8-15 minutes depending on heat of stovetop – watch carefully to avoid overcooked chicken)
- Drain any remaining liquid and set aside to cool.
Salad:
- While the chicken is cooking, cook the pasta in salted water, drain, and rinse under cool water until completely cooled down. Set aside.
- Remove stems of the spinach leaves and add to a bowl with the drained mandarin oranges, chopped cucumber (peel if desired), shredded carrot (I used a cheese grater), and chopped roma tomatoes.
- Add in the cooled pasta and chicken.
Dressing:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, orange juice, vegetable oil, ground ginger, white sugar, and garlic powder. Add the dry onion soup mixture to personal preference (you may want less or more – I did about 1 and 1/2 tablespoons).
- Briskly whisk in the mayo to thicken the dressing and the chopped parsley as desired.
RECIPE CONTRIBUTED BY CHELSEA'S MESSY APRON
