Asian Noodle Salad

Adapted slightly from Pioneer Woman

I found the original recipe for this salad on Pinterest. I had never made anything from the Pioneer Woman before because usually her stuff is... well, not exactly healthy. But to my surprise, this recipe seemed to be on the lighter side, and it is so full of bright, beautiful veggies! I figured I'd give it a try.

It was awesome. I love Asian flavors, and this salad totally hit the spot. I used what I would consider a bare minimum on the veggies, meaning you can easily add more and different veggies to this salad, as in the original recipe.  I used what I had and it was so delicious. I had a little bit of a hard time eating it when I twirled the noodles- the oil in the dressing made them un-twirl very easily. But this is easily solved by cutting up the noodles a bit. 

You may need more brown sugar to suit your taste, but I thought the amount was perfect. I only used one jalapeno and it wasn't spicy at all. Next time I may use two, or may leave in some of the jalapeno seeds.

Ingredients

Salad:

1 package Linguine noodles, cooked and cooled (I used whole wheat)

1/2 head Sliced Red Cabbage

1/2 bag Baby Spinach

1 whole Red Bell Pepper, thinly sliced

1 whole Yellow Bell Pepper, thinly sliced

1 bag Bean Sprouts (I had to omit because my grocery store's selection was miserable)

Cilantro,  chopped, to taste

3 whole Scallions, sliced

1 cup peanuts or cashews

Dressing:

1 Lime, juiced

1/2 cup Olive Oil

1/2 cup Soy Sauce (I used light)

2-3 Tablespoons Sesame Oil

1/3 cup packed Brown Sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground Ginger

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1-2 Jalapenos, minced

Directions

Combine all vegetables and linguine noodles in a very large bowl. Toss to combine. 

Whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.  Pour over vegetable/noodle mixture and toss to combine. Add peanuts and toss again to combine.

Yields: 6 servings as a main dish