Mandarin Sunburst Salad

Mandarin Sunburst Salad

by Anna
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Mandarin Sunburst Salad just sounds fresh and bright, doesn’t it?

It has become one of our favorite salads because it’s easy to prepare and, if you add some grilled chicken, it makes a great main dish. It’s also pretty healthy, although you do have Ramen noodles for some crunch.  But it’s worth a few carbs to do that.

I don’t count carbs, by the way.  Too much work.  But I am trying to eat healthier and exercise regularly.  I don’t know why I feel compelled to share that.

This salad is really good served as a side to just about any meat.  And don’t worry about mixing cultures in your meal. As a matter of fact, when we ate this last night I added some Greek seasoned grilled chicken to the salad and the Asian and Greek flavors were a delicious mash-up. This was our main dish.  It was our only dish and we were completely content with that.  Well, we did add some homemade dinner rolls. For balance.

I posted this dish on our old blog and just wanted to bring it back because, well, mandarins.  They’re my favorites.  Straight from the jar or over cottage cheese. Yes.  It is really tasty. Speaking of cottage cheese, have you ever dipped barbequed potato chips in it?  No, I’m serious.  I learned that from a roommate in college. Yes, I thought she was nuts, but it tasted really good!  Go figure.

Mandarin Sunburst Salad

Mandarin Sunburst Salad is a crunchy, fresh, bright dish full of flavor and healthy goodness. Add some grilled chicken and you have a meal in a bowl!
By:
Ingredients
  • 2 pkg. ramen noodles, chicken flavor
  • 1 pkg. (14-oz.) Cole Slaw
  • 1 can (15-oz.) Mandarin oranges, drained
  • 1 pkg. (5 or 6 oz.) dried sweetened cranberries
  • 4 green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
  • 12-16 sugar snap peas, cut diagonally into thirds
  • 1/2 cup toasted, sliced almonds, divided (Opt. if you have nut allergies)
  • handful of toasted sunflower seeds (Opt.)
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup white vinegar
Directions
Step 1
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Step 2
Open noodles packages. Reserve one seasoning packet for dressing and save other for future use, if desired.
Step 3
Break up ramen noodles into small pieces.
Step 4
Arrange noodles on an ungreased baking sheet and bake 10-13 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack covered with waxed paper.
Step 5
In a large bowl, combine Cole slaw, oranges, cranberries, onions, sugar snap peas, 1/4 cup almonds, sunflower seeds, and cooled noodles.
Step 6
Whisk oil, sugar, vinegar and reserved seasoning in a small bowl until well blended. Pour over slaw mixture and toss to coat ingredients evenly. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup almonds over salad.

Note:  This can be prepared 1-2 hours ahead of time and refrigerated to soften noodles. But you do want a little crunch!

Adapted from Fine Cooking.

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