Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Pasta, Chicken & Spinach Salad

This is another recipe I got from Kenzi Hardy...it's fresh and light, but still substantial. And it has a little bit of Asian flair, which I like.

Pasta, Chicken & Spinach Salad

3 cups shredded chicken
1 pkg (12 oz) rotelle or bowtie pasta
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup white vinegar
3 T sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup parsley
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion
8 cups fresh spinach

Cook pasta; drain.
In small frying pan, combine 1/4 cup oil and sesame seeds; saute until golden. Cool.
Stir in remaining oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and salt/pepper. Pour over cooked/cooled pasta and chicken, toss. Chill 2 hours or overnight.
Before serving, add spinach, onions and parsley.

No Fail Bread/Sweet Bread

I'm sure MOST of you cooks have this recipe already, but since I am relatively new to the world of breadmaking, I was excited to have this recipe given to me. We all know and love Karina's yummy crescent rolls of perfection, but if you have a hankering for something a little sweeter, I'd give this recipe a try. You can use it to make sweet rolls (almost like the King's Hawaiian Rolls) or loaves. I just made it in loaves today, and found that I prefer the rolls.

Sweet Bread

5 cups flour
1 T dry yeast
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 cups warm water

Put flour in bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, mix for one minute, then let rest for 15 minutes. Resume mixing for 5-6 minutes, then place in oiled bowl. Cover, let rise until doubled in size (about 2 hours). Punch down, then shape into balls and place in oiled pan with sides touching. Let rise until doubled (about an hour). Bake rolls 15 minutes, loaves 30 minutes at 350. Butter tops while warm.