Meal Plan Monday

Monday: Orange Sesame Pork with Teriyaki Noodles - I was on a kick where I made this all of the time, but haven't in quite a while. I just checked and I have all of the ingredients! YUM!

Take-Out Tuesday

Wednesday: Paula Deen's Chicken Empanadas - I've made these several times and they are so yummy! I'll probably only cook half, and put the other half in the freezer for another night.

Thursday: Sesame Chicken Salad

Friday: Authentic Maryland Crab Cakes (from my friend - hi, Kara! - who is from Maryland)

The Sesame Chicken Salad recipe is too good not to share. It seems more like a lunch dish (being a salad and all) but since Kevin and I are both trying to eat a little more healthfully (and it's so darn good!) I'm going to make it for dinner this week. The kids will like the chicken strips, minus the salad. The recipe originally came from one of Rachael Ray's first 30-Minute Meals cookbooks.

Sesame Chicken Salad
Whisk together 1/4 cup of dark maple syrup, 2-3 Tbsp. soy sauce (she always uses Tamari...a dark soy sauce) and 1/4 cup sweet hot mustard. Season chicken tenders (I actually cut mine up into smaller pieces) with salt and pepper on both sides and add to the bowl of marinade. Set aside (you can do this at the time of meal prep or before and let it sit in the fridge until you're ready for it).

Spread 1/2 cup sesame seeds (a mix of black & white or all white) in a shallow dish and coat the chicken pieces in sesame seeds. Cook sesame chicken in a large nonstick skillet (with enough veg oil to cover the bottom of pan) over medium-high heat in small batches, 3 minutes on each side and remove to plate.

DRESSING: Whisk 1-inch of fresh grated gingerroot, 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar, 1/4 cup Chinese duck sauce (or apricot all-fruit spread) and 1/4 cup veg oil.

SALAD: 1 bag (10 ounces) of mixed baby greens. Add to this anything else that you like in a "Chinese-style" salad--she suggests thinly slices cucumber, 1/2 cup shredded carrots, scallions, snow peas. Combine all of the salad ingredients into a bowl. Toss with dressing and serve, topping with sesame chicken tenders. Garnish with fried Chinese noodles for added crunch.