Spinach Salad with Teriyaki Bowties

I recently saw this recipe on martawrites blog and it reminded me of a recipe I used to make but somehow lost the recipe. I had cut it out of the newspaper and the clipping ended up lost before I had a chance to type it up. I was happy to find it again and made it for dinner that night. My husband loves anything with teriyaki and I remembered that he had loved it! It is simple and easy and I usually have most of the ingredients on hand. Except this time I was out of sesame seeds, and I used a yelow bell pepper instead of the called for red. I think red would look better and stand out more, but the yellow one tasted great. We don't like the craisins with teriyaki combo, so I leave those out. Other than that, we think this salad is great! I think you will love it too! Thanks Marta for the reminder!


Spinach Salad With Teriyaki Bowties
submitted by Melanie www.thesisterscafe.com
printable recipe here

16 oz. Bowtie pasta, cooked and cooled
1 - 2 bags of fresh baby Spinach
2 small cans Mandarin Oranges
1 cup Craisins (I left this out)
1 Red Pepper, chopped (I used yellow)
1 can Water Chestnuts
1 bunch Green Onions, chopped
1 cup Honey Roasted Peanuts or Cashews
1/2 cup fresh Parsley (optional)
1/4 cup Sesame Seeds, toasted (optional)
2 cups torn cooked Chicken (optional)

Dressing:
1 cup Vegetable Oil
2/3 cup White Wine Vinegar
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
2/3 C. Teriyaki Sauce
5 Tbs. Sugar

Cook bowtie pasta according to directions, drain and cool while whisking the dressing together in a large bowl. Marinate cooked bowtie pasta in the dressing for 1 hour or longer in the fridge. Combine salad ingredients in a large bowl and pour the teriyaki sauce and pasta over the salad, toss together and serve. If it's just a few of you, make individual salad servings; keeping the salad and bowtie sauce separate for the rest of the week (no one likes a soggy salad).