Kendra's Treats

We almost never eat out, but several weeks ago Jordan was working late and I was going to be on my own for dinner. We hadn’t been to the grocery store all week so I drove through Wendy’s on the way home and got this salad for dinner. It was really good. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I decided to recreate a version at home last weekend. I can’t remember exactly what the original version tasted like, but my version is delicious too. It’s mildly spicy, but you could easily adjust the heat level to your preference adding more or less sriracha and cayenne pepper. And of course, just like with any other salad you can adjust the ingredients to your preferences too. Don’t like cucumbers or peppers? Leave them off or replace them with something you do like – carrots, radishes, or sugar snap peas perhaps. Enjoy!

Spicy Asian Chicken Salad
6 oz butter lettuce (or any lettuce you prefer)
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
1/3-1/2 English cucumber, sliced
3/4 cup frozen shelled edamame
~3/4 lb. uncooked chicken tenders or breasts

for the dressing:
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp creamy peanut butter
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp sriracha
1/2 tsp ground ginger
4 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
1/8 tsp garlic powder

for the spicy cashews:
1/2 cup lightly salted cashews
1/2 tbsp melted butter
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp smoked paprika
1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp dried minced onion

1. To prepare the dressing, whisk together the soy sauce, peanut butter, sugar, sriracha, ginger, vinegar, garlic powder, and sesame oil. Set aside.
2. Lightly season chicken with salt and pepper and grill (outdoor grill or grill pan) until cooked (15-20 minutes depending on the size and thickness of your chicken breasts), flipping once. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 165 degrees. Cool and slice.
3. To prepare the cashews, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine ingredients in small bowl and toss to combine. Spread evenly onto baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool.
4. To prepared the edamame, turn oven to broil. Spread frozen edamame onto lightly greased baking sheet and season lightly with salt. Place under broiler until lightly browned, 5-7 minutes.
5. At this point, you are ready to assemble the salad. I like to make each salad separately, but if you prefer you could toss all ingredients (except dressing) in large bowl to combine and gradually add dressing until you reach your desired amount. (You will have more dressing that you need!)