Chicken Pasta Salad

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Chicken Pasta Salad

Yield: 14 servings

Prep Time: 30 min + marinating time

Cook Time: 10 min

LOVE this salad- have served it for many events- baby shower, bbq's etc. Everyone always loves it and asks for the recipe. It feeds a lot of people too.

Ingredients:

16 oz bow tie pasta, cooked and drained

CHICKEN:
4 large chicken breast halves, boneless, skinless
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 clove garlic, minced

DRESSING
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 teaspoons granulated white sugar
4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary, to taste

SALAD INGREDIENTS:
1 pound mixed salad greens
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 bunch green onions, sliced (1/2 to 3/4 cup)
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup crumbled, cooked bacon
1 cup toasted pine nuts

Directions:

1. PREPARE CHICKEN: Sauté chicken with onion, rosemary and garlic in 12-inch skillet over medium heat until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from pan and cut into bite-sized pieces. Discard onion. Set chicken aside.

2. DRESSING: Whisk dressing ingredients together. Pour dressing over cooked noodles and chicken. Cover and marinate overnight in refrigerator.

3. JUST BEFORE SERVING: Add remaining salad ingredients and toss.

Tips:

*The great thing about this recipe is that you can prepare it the night before your event. Get all of the pasta & chicken marinating in the dressing and then assemble it the next day with the greens, etc. You can lighten it up a bit by using less oil, more lemon juice and turkey bacon.
*Sun-dried tomatoes are sold pre-packaged and already cut into strips (rather than packed in oil). To soften them up, put them in a small bowl of water and microwave for 2 minutes!
*Use roasted chicken and shred it up to save time.

Source: RecipeGirl.com