A friend served a similar salad to the recipe below at a pot luck, and I knew I had to have the recipe.  She has some sort of aversion to technology, so my e-mail begging for the recipe went unanswered.  Off to search the internets!

I found this one on recipezaar.com, and have made it a few times sans chicken.  It has been received very well (they didn’t lick their plates, but it was close!), so here it is for your summer bbq I-need-a-quick-salad-to-bring pleasure.  It’s pretty quick to make, so it works so great for summer.  If you are so inclined and just want to bring it for lunch at work, don’t mix it up with the dressing and have that on the side.  I can tell you that I plan on doing that myself!  I just mixed up about half the salad here for dinner, mixed some up for dinner another night and the rest I plan to have for lunch.

We had this with grilled bacon wrapped beef tenderloin and peas.  I made the kids beef brats since they don’t like steak…yet. 😉

Recipe:
 
1 head cabbage, shredded or chopped OR 1 bag coleslaw mix (I do this for ease of making it)
1 bunch green onion, finely chopped (or to taste)
2 (2 1/2 ounce) packages slivered almonds
3 tablespoons sunflower seeds (I haven’t had them on hand each time, so this is optional)
2 packages Top Ramen noodles or other ramen-type soup
3 tablespoons oil

Dressing
3/4 cup vegetable oil or canola oil
5 TBSP seasoned rice vinegar
5 TBSP sugar
5 TBSP soy sauce
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Prepare dressing and set aside. Smash noodles of Top Ramen (discard seasoning packets) and brown over medium heat in 3 tbs oil. Once noodles have begun to slightly brown, add slivered almonds. If you start to brown the Ramen and almonds at the same time, the almonds will burn before the Ramen browns.  Once the ramen noodles have turned a dark golden brown, remove from heat and set aside. If they are oily, allow to drain on a paper towel.

Combine cabbage mix, green onions, and sunflower seeds in a large bowl. About 10 minutes before serving, add the ramen/almond mixture and dressing.  Stir well to coat.

Enjoy!

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