Mu Shu Chicken Wraps

Into the crock-pot, on LOW for 6 hours:

• 1 white onion, chopped
• 2-3 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 TBS sesame oil
• 3/4 cup Hoisin sauce
• 1 TBS soy sauce
• 1 TBS honey
• 2 tsp rice vinegar
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• salt & pepper to taste

Prep for serving 30 minutes prior to mealtime:

• fajita size flour tortillas, warm
• shredded napa cabbage (1/2 cup per person)
• sliced green onions

HINT:  We couldn't find any napa cabbage so I used regular cabbage sliced very thin.  Slivered almonds would be a good additional topping to these wraps, make sure you have extra Hoisin sauce on hand for dipping...enjoy!!

Mandarin-Cashew Salad

Ingredients:

• 12 cups of your favorite lettuce (or blend) torn
• 2 (11 oz) cans of mandarin oranges, drained
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped
• 1 celery rib, thinly sliced
• 1/2 small red onion, chopped
• 1 cup honey roasted cashews

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 tsp ground mustard
• 1 TBS lime juice
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/8 tsp salt
• dash white pepper

Directions:

1. In a large salad bowl, layer the lettuce, green pepper, celery, red onion, mandarin oranges, and roasted cashews.
2. In a separate small bowl, or large measuring cup - mix the vegetable oil, honey, ground mustard, lime juice, paprika, salt, and pepper.
3. Drizzle dressing over layered salad, just prior to serving.

This recipe is linked up at the Old Fashioned Recipe Exchange over at Little House on the Prairie Living - go visit and link up your favorite recipe too!

Polynesian Sausage Kabobs

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 lbs smoked kielbasa or Polish sausage, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 small pineapple, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 small cantaloupe, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 medium green peppers, cut into 1 inch pieces
• salt & pepper to season as desired

Directions:

1. Making the marinade: In a large bowl, combine lemon juice, soy sauce, water, honey, and salt. Divide in half. Half will be used to baste and half should be put into a resealable bag or covered dish to marinade the sausage.
2. Refrigerate reserved marinade, and marinading sausage separately in the refrigerator for 3 hours.
3. Remove the marinading sausage from the refrigerator - drain and discard the marinade.
4. On soaked wooden skewers or metal skewers, thread alternately sausage, pineapple, cantaloupe, and green pepper.
5. Preheat grill to medium heat.
6. Grill skewers uncovered over medium heat for 10 minutes while turning and basting with reserved marinade.

Hint: Grilled cantaloupe did not sound appealing to me - but OMGoodness it is delicious! We keep a blend of *house* seasoning, (equal parts salt, pepper, garlic powder, and red pepper) on hand to add a little extra punch. Sparingly. On these kabobs, it was delicious!! Even on the pineapple chunks - it worked very well! Maybe next time we will add some chunks of red onion. Maybe!

This recipe is linked up over at Grateful Belly for this week's What's New Wednesday post...go see what other AWESOME and AMAZING ideas are being shared!!

Sesame Salmon

Ingredients:

• 2 TBS cider vinegar
• 2 TBS soy sauce
• 1 TBS honey
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp spicy brown mustard
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1 salmon fillet (1 1/2 - 2 lbs)
• 2 TBS toasted sesame seeds
• 3 green onions, sliced

Directions:

1. Place salmon fillet in a large resealable bag.
2. Combine cider vinegar, soy sauce, vegetable oil, spicy brown mustard, honey, and ground ginger in a small bowl or measuring cup - then pour over salmon in resealable bag.
3. Reseal bag and refrigerate for one hour, turning once.
4. Preheat grill prior to cooking. Prepare preheated grill with nonstick cooking spray.
5. Drain excess marinade from salmon fillet, and place salmon fillet skin side down on to preheated prepared grill.
6. Grill - covered, over medium-high heat for 15-20 minutes or until the fillet flakes easily with a fork.
7. Sprinkle top of cooked salmon with toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onions.