Judy's Won ton Salad

Whenever I make this salad, I enjoy sweet memories of a dear friend who used to live in my town and go to church with me.  She and her husband have since served three or four missions for our church ( I lost count), which have taken her to all parts of the world and they now reside in California.  She is one of my Titus 2 friends.  You can read about those special ladies here.  I learned so many things from her, but her example to me of a godly woman who was always serving others tops the list.  Judy didn't wait for an assignment, she saw a need and was there.  I know, because I was a recipient of her love on more than one occasion.  So when I pull out this recipe, I think of Judy and wish she would move back to NC.  I miss her!!   It's fun to remember the supper club meeting at my house, when she taught us how to make this salad.  Our theme that night was summer salads and this one was on the menu.  That's Judy on the left.

Now that's a bunch of cooks in the kitchen!   But we had so much fun.  I miss supper club too.

We turned out some killer food at those meetings.

I'm thankful that Judy shared this recipe that night, because it has become one of my family's favorite salads.  I've adapted it somewhat, to suit our needs better, but it still tastes like Judy's Won ton Salad.  The only problem with this salad is that it seems to grow in the bowl. You can't make a small Won ton Salad and it doesn't lend itself to leftovers, so you need to have a crowd when you make it.  If you have a large family or are entertaining, then it's a nonissue.  With Dillon and Jantzen home, I thought we would be able to finish it off...and we did.

As it's name implies, the star of this dish is won tons.  I use half a package and freeze the rest for another time.

The won tons are quickly fried in vegetable oil. This goes super fast, because it only takes a minute for them to brown, so don't walk away from the stove. That would be dangerous and you would burn them.   Drain on paper towel.  Set aside.

Chop some good crunchy lettuce, romaine works well.   Put this in a big bowl. 

Then chop and add the other ingredients on top of the lettuce.  I like green onions,

sliced and drained water chestnuts,

and cucumbers.  Carrots and red pepper would also be good( but I didn't add them this time).

I did however have some wonderful fresh pineapple in the fridge (thanks Carol), so I chopped that up and added it.

Earlier in the week, we had grilled chicken and I intentionally made extra for this salad.  So all I had to do was pull it out and chop it.

I toasted some sesame seeds to go on top of the salad

and whipped up the dressing.  I've cut the sugar in half and substituted agave nectar.  The dressing is still nice and sweet, but I can eat it with out guilt this way. The ingredients for the dressing are salt, rice vinegar, sugar, agave nectar and vegetable oil.  Very simple and really delicious.

Add the oil last and whisk together.

Now comes the fun part.  All those won tons that were fried up earlier, get crunched on top of the salad.

Thanks to Dillon for getting his hands dirty and helping out.  I still love having my kids in the kitchen.

We may have been having too much fun with this.  And Jantzen was running around snapping pictures like crazy, from unusual angles (like the one above) and making us all laugh. Who says cooking dinner can't be fun?  I have no pictures of the salad on plates. You'll have to use your imagination.  As soon as that dressing was on and we had tossed the salad, all we were thinking about was eating it!

Judy's Won Ton Salad 

1 head lettuce, chopped

1/2 package wontons, fried in oil, drained well on paper towels

chicken breasts, cooked and chopped

1 small can water chestnuts, chopped

chopped cucumbers, carrots, celery, red peppers (or whatever you like)

1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted

3 small green onions, chopped

Chop lettuce, onions, water chestnuts and other vegetables of your choice.  Chop chicken.  Place all in large bowl.  Add sesame seeds and dressing.  Mix well.  Eat immediately.  Soggy wontons are no fun.

Dressing

2 t. salt

8 t. rice vinegar

5 T. sugar ( or combination of sugar and other sweetener such as agave)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Mix well with wire whisk.  Sugar and salt will not completely dissolve.