Sesame Pasta Chicken Salad

SESAME PASTA CHICKEN SALAD

Servings: 10

Ingredients:

¼ cup sesame seeds

1 (16 ounce) package bow tie pasta

½ cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup light soy sauce

1/3 cup rice vinegar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

3 tablespoons white sugar

½ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

3 cups shredded, cooked chicken breast

1 cup frozen baby peas

1 cup shredded carrots

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/3 cup chopped green onion

Directions:

1. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add sesame seeds, and cook stirring frequently until lightly toasted. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain pasta and rinse under cold water until cool. Transfer to a large bowl.

3. In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine vegetable oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, sesame seeds, ginger, and pepper. Shake well.

4. Pour sesame dressing over pasta and toss to coat evenly. Gently mix in chicken, cilantro and green onions and vegetables.

Roasted Asparagus with Parmigiano-Reggiano

I had family over for Easter this year. It wasn't a large crowd but I still had to make some side dishes. I had ordered a ham from Honeybaked Ham so I didn't have to actually make the main dish. My mother made a chicken, a potato dish and some other great dishes to serve, as well. I've been getting asked for asparagus and seeing recipes for asparagus quite a bit recently. I am not a fan of asparagus but that doesn't mean I won't cook it for others. It wasn't hard to make. In fact, I would go out on a limb and say it was easy. The recipe is from a flier I got from Wegman's. They are using all Wegman's brand products but that isn't necessary. I used whatever brand I had available to me. I also went on youtube to find out exactly how to trim asparagus. It was fairly easy. I doubled the recipe and it went very quickly. I should have tripled it.

ROASTED ASPARAGUS WITH PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO

Makes: 2 Cups

1 bunch (about 1 pound) asparagus, trimmed

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

1. Arrange asparagus in single layer on baking sheet; drizzle with olive oil, rolling to coat.

2. Roast about 10 minutes, until asparagus is tender. Remove from oven.

3. Season generously with salt and pepper; sprinkle evenly with cheese. Return to oven. Roast about 5 minutes, until cheese begins to soften and brown.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook