Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad with Garlic Dill Mayonnaise

Pasta salads are one of my favorite summer meals.  You really can't go wrong throwing any fresh vegetable, a little meat, some pasta and some sort of dressing into a bowl.  My husband, however, is a pasta salad snob.  This means we don't normally eat any type of pasta salad in our house.  So, I save these dishes for potlucks and ladies' nights, where I think most people will enjoy it.  I needed a dish to take to a get together last weekend, and I really didn't want to go to the store.  There was a box of pasta in the pantry, fresh veggies and herbs in my garden, and some chicken in the freezer.  Perfect!  After a little research on sprucing up plain mayonnaise, I had something that I liked.  Best part?  My pasta salad snob husband likes it too.

If you read down through the recipe, you'll see that I have 50 cherry tomatoes listed as an ingredient.  It's not necessary to use exactly 50 tomatoes.  I just happened to count them as I was cutting them and tossing them in the bowl.  Feel free to add more garlic, too; I didn't want it to overpower the salad, but if you love garlic, add in another clove or two.

Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad with Garlic Dill Mayonnaise


1 lb. pasta, cooked
2 green peppers, diced
50 cherry tomatoes
1 cucumber, chopped
2 grilled chicken breasts, sliced
1 cup mayonnaise
2 cloves minced garlic
3 tablespoons fresh dill
salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl gently combine cooked pasta, peppers, tomatoes, cucumber and chicken.  In a separate bowl mix together mayonnaise, garlic and dill.  Stir the mayonnaise gently into the pasta mixture until well dispersed.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve chilled.

Linking to:

Fettucini Alfredo with Sausage, Peppers, Onions and Tomatoes

Fettucini Alfredo is one of my favorite pasta dishes, but I rarely make it or order it at a restaurant because it's so terribly fattening!  However, I feel that if you make it at home, you know exactly how many calories you're eating, and that makes me feel a bit better about it.  Every now and then, indulging is okay--'everything in moderation', as my mom has always said.

I've added a new feature on this post:  a printable version of the recipe.  This was a suggestion by a sweet friend/reader, and I'm glad she suggested it!  Just click on the words "Printable Version" and you'll be taken to a page of just the recipe and you can print it out and add it to your recipe collection.  Hope this is helpful to those of you who like to have recipes in hand!  I'll be going back through my recipes and doing this to each one, so hang in there--that will be a big project!


Recipe:
Printable Version
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 lb. smoked sausage, grilled
1/2 tomato, diced
olive oil

Alfredo:
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 cup heavy cream or half and half (I used a combination of these)
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

12 ounces Fettucini noodles (approximately, I used a little more than half of a one pound box)

Begin boiling water in a large pot for the noodles.  When water has come to a boil, add noodles and cook according to directions on the box.

While the noodles are cooking, heat olive oil in a large skillet.  Add peppers and onions and saute over medium heat until tender, but not mushy, about 5 minutes.  Add chopped tomatoes and continue cooking over low heat for 3 more minutes.

Slice grilled sausage into small chunks.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan heat butter and cream, until butter has melted.  Remove from heat, add Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.  Stir until cheese has melted.

In a large bowl combine drained noodles, vegetables and sausage.  Pour alfredo sauce on top and toss.