Monday, March 4, 2013

Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad


(Serves 8 with leftovers)
This recipe serves my large family with leftovers for lunch tomorrow
2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast
48 oz tri-color pasta
2 – 3 cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans black olives, drained and rinsed, halved (optional)
1 pkg. Cherry tomatoes (2 if you prefer)
2 each Red and Yellow sweet peppers, cut into thin strips
3 Yellow summer squash, halved and sliced
3 Zucchini squash, halved and sliced 
3 bags of your favorite frozen mixed vegetables (I get bags with broccoli, baby corn, carrots, snap peas, asparagus, water chestnuts, green beans, etc.) Keep the vegetables frozen until you are ready to use them. DO NOT cook them.
2 bottles of Newman’s Own Caesar Dressing
16 oz sour cream or plain yogurt
Crumbled Feta Cheese
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Marinate in 1 cup Caesar dressing for 30 minutes to 1 hour before broiling/grilling.

Grill or broil chicken until cooked thoroughly. Use cooking tongs to turn the chicken so that you don’t let the juices escape. Remove to platter and let cool to the touch.
While the chicken is cooking bring a large pot (at least 6 qts) of water to a boil. Cook 48 oz of tri-color pasta in salted water. Drain and empty into large bowl. (I use my turkey roasting pan to mix this in so that I have plenty of mixing space.)
Slice the cooled chicken into strips and then cut into bite sized pieces. Add to the pasta. Do not mix together yet.
Add the bags of uncooked Frozen vegetables to the pasta and chicken, Mix them together. As you toss together this will cool the pasta and chicken to a nice cold salad; the heat from the pasta cooks the frozen vegetables enough to make them perfect for a fresh salad.
Add all of the fresh vegetables, the garbanzo beans and the black olives and quartered artichoke hearts to your pasta and chicken. 
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
In a medium mixing bowl combine the Caesar dressing and the sour cream or yogurt and whisk together to combine. Pour over the salad and mix together. Top with crumbled Feta Cheese, give a quick toss and serve.
Cheesy garlic bread is a great accompaniment to this salad.  


No comments:

Post a Comment