Thai Chicken and Noodle Salad

This salad was so delicious!  This past summer on our visit home to Idaho we went and saw some friends who live in Utah who we had met when we were stationed at Fort Knox.  We kind of sprung our visit on them with real short notice but they were gracious enough to welcome us in their home and feed us a scrumptious dinner.  Daniel LOVED this salad.  Daniel has suddenly become our picky eater so when he asked me to please call my friend Dee to get the recipe, I figured I better do it and QUICK.  All the boys helped me put this together tonight and it was as good as we remembered. 

Thai Chicken and Noodle Salad

8 oz. linguine
1/2 medium cucumber, halved and sliced
4 cups shredded greens; any combo of Napa cabbage, romaine lettuce, or spinach
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
2 cups thinly sliced purple cabbage
3 cups diced grilled chiken
1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts (more if you like)
1/2 red pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 yellow pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium carrot, julienned
1 recipe Thai Peanut Salad dressing

Thai Peanut Salad Dressing

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 lime, juiced and zested
2 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon seasoned rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons honey
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1/2 c roughly chopped cilantro (stems and all)
2-3 teaspoons Sriracha chili sauce (start with 2 tsp. and add more to taste)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2-4 tablespoons water

1.  Prepare dressing by combining all ingredients except oil and water in a blender.  Blend for 20-30 seconds.  Turn to low and slowly drizzle oil until combined  Add water to thin dressing to desired consistency.

2.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add pasta.  While the pasta is cooking chop the vegetables.

3.  Drain pasta and run some cold water over it until it's cool.  If not using it right away, add a drizzle of the salad dressing and stir to coat the noodles to prevent them from getting clumpy.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

4.  When you're ready to assemble the salad, place noodles, veggies, and chicken in a large bowl.  Pour the Thai Peanut Dressing over everything, stirring as you go, until all ingredients are coated.