Thai Beef Salad with Cucumber Dressing

From The Treasury of Creative Cooking
Serves 4

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 red pepper, cut in thin strips
2 green onions, diagonally cut into 1-inch pieces
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
1 teaspoon soy sauce*
salt & freshly ground pepper
lettuce leaves
6 ounces rice pasta(vermicelli or linguini), cooked according to package directions**
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
Cucumber Dressing (recipe follows)

1. Prepare cucumber dressing; set aside.
2. Brown ground beef in medium skillet. Drain. Add red peppers, onions, and garlic; cook until tender. Stir in vinegar and soy sauce; season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Arrange lettuce leaves on four plates. Top with cold noodles and ground beef mixture. Garnish with cherry tomatoes. Serve with dressing.

Cucumber Dressing
1 medium cucumber, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion
1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon diced jalapeno or green chili pepper
Pinch of salt

Place cucumbers, onions, cilantro, garlic, peppers, and salt in food processor container; process 1 minute. Spoon mixture into small bowl and serve.

*San-J has wheat-free soy sauce
**I use Thai Kitchen noodles; they are gluten-free