Pinned & Produced: Asian Slaw

I pinned this salad right before Jennie Doezie came for Christmas. I’ve now had it four times since then. Four times in a month. It’s that good.

I took this salad to a baby shower last week with hopes that some leftovers might come home for me to share with my Hubby. No such luck.  Some ladies almost licked the bowl clean.

I’m not going to try to take the credit for it’s deliciousness. I told all the ladies at the shower that I found the salad on Pinterest. To which they all replied, “What’s Pinterest?” Um ...

The original post can be found on a blog called Once Upon a Chef.  Check it out for step by step photos and directions. I only took one photo of all the ingredients in the bowl before I added the dressing because it’s so colorful and happy.

When I made this last week I altered the recipe just slightly by adding store bought broccoli slaw instead of coleslaw. I felt like the coleslaw was a little too soggy last time I made the salad. The broccoli slaw held up great though.  Also, I held off adding my dressing until right before the shower started. The flavors were still wonderful, but everything was less drippy and soggy. I must have soggy salad issues. Other slight changes: low sodium soy sauce and regular rice wine vinegar – because that’s what I had.

Look at all the veggies in this salad! Peppers, carrots, edemame, broccoli slaw {hiding at the bottom}! Oh man, now I’m salivating.

Try this salad.  Your husband will love it. You will love it too. If you have non-picky kids, they will scarf it down. And you can thank me later.

For the Dressing
¼ cup honey
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
1 tablespoon peanut butter

½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon hot sauce

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 large garlic clove, minced

For the Slaw
4 cups prepared shredded coleslaw (or broccoli slaw)
2 cups prepared shredded carrots (or grated in food processor)
1 red pepper, thinly sliced into bite size pieces
1 cup pre-cooked, shelled edamame (available fresh or frozen)
2 medium scallions, finely chopped
½ cup chopped salted peanuts (you can also leave them whole)
½ cup loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Make the dressing by combining all ingredients in medium bowl. Stir until peanut butter is dissolved. Set aside.

2. Combine all of the slaw ingredients in a large bowl. Add dressing and toss well. Let sit at least 10 minutes so vegetables have a chance to soak up the dressing. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary (I usually add a bit more salt but go by your own taste). Serve cold.

That’s Huge!

Today I’ve got nothing. Nothing, except a tomato the size of my kid’s head.

Did you know that RedDog is the ONLY one in our family who likes fresh tomatoes? He’ll eat them straight off the vine with a little salt. It’s like candy to him.

Meanwhile, the rest of us are trying to control our gag reflexes.

We like tomatoes cooked in pastas, sauces and salsas. The Hubby and I even like them finely diced in salads or pico de gallo. But there’s a seedy, slimy thing we can’t handle with fresh tomatoes.

This huge tomato came from my friend Michelle’s garden. She cuts Owlie’s hair and while we were there the other day RedDog sat and ate baby cherry tomatoes by the handful off her vines. He also claimed this bad boy as his prize for sitting through a boring old haircut. He had half of it for lunch on Saturday and the other half on Sunday. He was a happy boy.

We try to eat pretty healthy around here. We’re not “all organic” or “no refined sugar” healthy, but I try to limit the junk and cook fresh and from scratch instead of buying prepared foods.

I have recommitted myself to menu planning to help our grocery budget and maintain consistency in our healthy eating. Just FYI, here’s what’s on the menu this week:

• Calzones, green salad & peaches
• Sloppy Joes, sweet potato fries, green beans
• Asian cole slaw, pot stickers, brown rice, pineapple
• Chicken, pesto & pinenut pasta, breadsticks, fall salad
• BBQ chicken, quinoa blackbean corn salad, fresh fruit

The only premade item on that menu will be the pot stickers. I know it’s only five meals, but Friday I have a date with some girlfriends at Café Rio and Saturday The Hubby and I will head to the temple, so the kids will make dinner (probably grilled cheese, mac and cheese or frozen pizza). Gotta get away from the kitchen or I end up hating the cooking portion of my job.

For full disclosure’s sake, I will admit that two of my kids will love everything on this menu, one will like about half and one will HATE all of it except the fruit and bread. But I don’t cook to make my kids happy, I cook to make them healthy (and my Hubby happy).

What’s on your menu this week? Are you a menu planner?