Chinese Chicken Salad with Sesame Dressing

Happy New Year!  We finally have our first recipe of 2014, Chinese Chicken Salad with Sesame Dressing.

After all the indulgences of the holidays, I'm ready for some healthier eating.  This is the second salad we've had for dinner this week.  Most of my kiddos like salads and those that don't will usually pick out and eat the parts that they do like.  This salad has some veggies, pasta, chicken, nuts and chow mein noodles for some crunch.     

Recipe Link
Ingredients 
2 (9 oz.) packages romaine salad mix
3 cups rotisserie chicken, cubed or shredded
6 green onions, chopped
3/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted lightly
3 cups cooked rotini pasta noodles, cooled
*About 2 cups chow mein noodles
Dressing
4 1/2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/8 cup seasoned rice vinegar
3 teaspoons sesame oil (add more if you prefer a strong sesame taste)
4 1/2 teaspoons sugar
2 Tablespoons low sodium soy sauce 
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons sesame seeds (optional)
Directions
1. In a large bowl, combine lettuce, chicken, green onion, almonds and pasta.
2. Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk well until sugar dissolves. Dress lettuce mixture with 1/2 cup of sesame dressing and top with chow mein noodles. Serve with additional dressing and chow mein noodles if desired.
Serves 6

*Original recipe calls for frying up your own wonton strips out of wonton wrappers instead of chow mein noodles. This sounds delicious, but I went with the packaged chow mein noodles to keep things easier.

Adapted from Foodie Crush

The Results... 
We all agreed that we really liked the sesame dressing in this recipe.  It was delicious!  I will definitely make this dressing again.

I had mixed reviews on the salad, though.  My teenage son liked this salad the most and rated it 4 1/2 stars (out of 5).  Everyone else gave it 3 to 3 1/2 stars.  My husband thought it needed something, but didn't know what.  Maybe some snow peas?  I think some chopped celery might be a nice addition along with trying the fried wonton strips next time.  What do you think?  I'm always open to suggestions. 

I share recipes at these link parties.