Chicken Pasta Salad with poppyseed dressing

Chicken Pasta Salad — Someone brought this flavorful and addicting pasta salad to a potluck and everyone raved over it.  I was lucky enough to get the recipe – and then promptly tweaked it.

They used dried cranberries which I switched out for fresh fruit to reduce the carb count somewhat.  Halved grapes, sliced strawberries and mandarin oranges work nicely.  This was the first time I used blueberries and we  liked those as well.  I prefer  Brianna’s poppyseed dressing and look for it when I start yearning for this dish. You can  poach the chicken by bringing water to boil in a shallow pan and slipping in a couple of thawed chicken breasts and cooking until done.  Better is the flavor from a deli roasted chicken, perfect for using leftovers.   Or use the tabletop  grill.  I laid thawed two chicken breasts on the grill which had preheated a couple of minutes.    About five minutes and they were done.  Grilling the chicken also adds new dimension to the flavor of the salad.   I prefer to use the mini farafelle (bowtie) pasta, cooked al dente (almost not quite fully cooked).

This makes 6-8 servings. This recipe can be halved easily.    Use half the Brianna poppyseed dressing, or one cup.  Add more if salad seems dry.

Chicken Pasta Salad with poppyseed dressing

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Creamy pasta salad with chicken and fruit — a side dish or a meal.

• Author: Charlene - A Pinch of Joy
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 20 mins
• Yield: 8 servings 1x
• Category: Salad
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

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• 16 oz package of pasta
• 4 green onions, sliced thin (about 1/4 cup)
• 2 stalks celery, sliced (about ½ cup)
• 2 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite sized pieces (approximately two large chicken breasts)
• 1 bottle poppyseed dressing (I use Brianna’s)
• ½ – ¾ cup of your choice of fruit

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Instructions

1. Cook pasta al dente according to package directions. Rigatoni, farafelle or penne work well.
2. Cook chicken until done – microwave, poach or grill — cool slightly and cut into small pieces.
3. Slice onions and celery.
4. Drain and rinse pasta when finished cooking. Rinse with cold water to stop cooking process.
5. Mix cooled chicken, pasta, vegetables and poppyseed dressing together.
6. Gently fold in fruit of your choice. Grapes, blueberries, strawberries, dried cranberries, mandarin oranges are suitable choices.
7. Chill two hours before serving. Will keep in refrigerator for 2-3 days.
8. Makes six to eight servings.

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Charlene

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