Chilled Pasta Salad With Chicken |
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Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cook Time: 60 Minutes |
Ready In: 90 Minutes Servings: 2 |
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On a hot summer day, my husband and I were craving a cold pasta salad as a main dish. Regular pasta salad was not filling enough, so we decided to add some protein: chicken and cubed cheese. This recipe is semi-homemade as it uses Suddenly Salad, but the end results was delicious! My whole family loves it! It makes a large batch, perfect for home or potluck. One batch might last a day in this household! The beauty of this recipe, is that you can change the type of Suddenly Salad, and the cheese, and create something different! For example, a southwestern flair using the Chipotle style Suddenly Salad and pepper jack cheese, or a Greek style with Feta and Greek Suddenly Salad! Or, make it vegetarian and trade the chicken for firm tofu! So many choices to make it your own. Ingredients:
2 suddenly salad pasta salad mix, original flavor |
1 cup kalamata olive, pitted and drained |
1 (8 ounce) jar pimentos, drained |
1 medium red onion, chopped |
6 roma tomatoes |
1 (16 ounce) package baby portabella mushrooms |
1/2 lb cheese, diced (we use a mix of white cheddar and pepper jack) |
1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts |
2 tablespoons pesto sauce |
1/2 cup ranch dressing |
1 tablespoon light olive oil |
1 tablespoon oregano |
1 teaspoon garlic salt |
Directions:
1. 1. Cube chicken into bite size pieces. Season chicken with oregano and garlic salt. Fry cubed chicken in 1tbsp light olive oil until cooked through. Drain excess oil from chicken in a fine mesh strainer. Set aside to cool.
2. 2. Prepare Suddenly Salad pasta according to directions on the box.
3. 3. Prepare Suddenly Salad dressing mix according to the box. To the dressing mix, add pesto and Ranch dressing. Set aside.
4. 4. While chicken cools, drain Kalamata olives and pimentos, set aside.
5. 5. Rough chop red onion, mushrooms, and tomatoes.
6. 6. Dice cheese into 1/2 cubes.
7. 7. Combine cooked and rinsed pasta with dressing mixture. Add in Kalamata olives, pimento, red onion, mushrooms, and cheese.
8. 8. Add in cooked and drained chicken cubes. Stir to combine. Allow to cool in the refrigerator at least one hour.
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