Chinese Chicken Salad

   
I first tried Chinese Chicken Salad at  a church pot luck and thought it was amazing. Then at another pot luck tried some and thought it was gross. I then decided I would make it from a recipe in my cookbook and it was just ok.  So I set off to try and find a recipe I liked. Online there are tons and tons of recipes for this salad so I looked at quite a few of them and took an idea here and there. A bunch of the recipes had mandarin orange slices in them but while they added great color and nice orange flavor to the salad neither Jacob or I liked getting a whole slice of orange in a bite. Jacob suggested I blend them up to add to it so that is exactly what I did and everyone in our family thinks it turned out great (though still not as wonderful as that first one I tasted). So here is the recipe incase any of you 8 people who read my blog want to try it.  :)   If you try it I would love to hear what you think.
This makes a big salad so you may want to halve the recipe (we end up with some leftovers) 
Chinese Chicken Salad
10 chicken breast tenders fried in small amount of oil and seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and cut into bite sized pieces
1 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted
2 packages top ramen noodles crunched up and seasoning packets discarded
1 head green cabbage chopped in bite sized pieces
1 package salad mix (I like green and red butter leaf)
1 bunch green onions sliced
1 package chow mein noodles (optional) for topping individual salads
1 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1  11oz can mandarin orange slices in light syrup, drained
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
salt, pepper. garlic powder, dry minced onion flakes to taste

In large bowl combine cooked chicken, almonds, sesame seeds, ramen noodles, cabbage, salad mix, and green onions.
In blender combine oil, vinegar, oranges, sugar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and salt, pepper, garlic powder, and dried onion. Blend until combined. Pour over salad and mix well. Serve with chow mein noodles if desired.