From the Kitchen :: Grilled Chicken and Roasted Asparagus Pasta Salad

Summer is coming!  Actually, today when we walked outside at 10:00 this morning, it felt like summer. Humid, sticky, and hot; that's Georgia for you :)

We always do more grilling during the summer months, and we have really enjoyed our garden that we've had the past three summers.  Moving away is going to be hard for lots of reasons, and missing the garden is going to be one of them.

This pasta salad is a great alternative to the mayonnaise versions that I usually make {like this one, yummy but not as healthy}.  A friend made it for us at the end of March and she shared her recipe with me because Bradley was asking me to make it.  Do you try to cook the dishes your husband requests?  I recommend it...

Asparagus has been on sale for the past month, but I think it might be coming off of its peak now, so during the summer, you could certainly swap out the asparagus for some roasted zucchini or yellow squash.  Sauteed mushrooms or grape tomatoes would also make a nice addition.  Just keep it colorful and fresh!



Grilled Chicken and Roasted Asparagus Pasta Salad

Italian dressing or Balsamic vinaigrette
6 chicken breast halves

1 lb. penne pasta
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. dijon mustard
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried basil

1 red pepper, cut into strips
1 yellow pepper, cut into strips
1 lb. fresh asparagus*
olive oil
salt and pepper

1 cup fresh basil {measure, then finely chop}, optional

Marinate chicken in Italian dressing or balsamic vinaigrette approximately 8 hours.  Grill chicken.  Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain.  Mix next seven inrgedients and stir into pasta.

Lay asparagus on cookie sheet, sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.  Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes.

Mix chicken, pasta and vegetables.  Add fresh basil, if desired, and toss.  Refrigerate until ready to eat. Stir gently before serving.



source:  my friend, Jenny

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:

Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing

This post is entirely credited to my wonderful husband!  My birthday is later this month {it's a big one} and Bradley is trying to make it really special for me.  He knows I love Caesar salad, so he scoured the internet for an amazing recipe, headed to the store for the needed supplies, and whipped up this awesome dressing.  We're going to keep tweaking it a bit here and there, but it really is delicious.  Some Caesar dressings have a really fishy taste, but this one contained the right balance {we thought}.

Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing {and Caesar Salad}

1 1/2 anchovy filets
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup half-and-half
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Romaine lettuce
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
croutons

In a food processor, chop the anchovy filets and garlic.  Add in the remaining ingredients until well combined.  Add more half and half, if desired, to thin out the dressing.  Store it in the fridge for about 3 hours before using, as this helps the flavors to blend.

*This dressing made enough for 6 individual salads. 

The Chef

We used this kind of anchovy filets.  They were less than $2.

This is what they look like, and don't fear, because they just smell a tad like tuna fish, not bad at all.

To finish off your salad, make some croutons!

In a small skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of butter.  Place a piece of bread on top and grill until golden.

Add another tablespoon of butter to the pan, and place bread in once more to toast the other side.

Cut into little squares to place on top of salad.

Break lettuce into bite-size pieces onto salad plate, top with croutons, freshly grated Parmesan cheese, and dollops of Caesar dressing.

source: Food.com, Kittencal's Famous Caesar Salad

Mixed Greens and Fruit Salad with Sweet Fruity Salad Dressing

One of my cooking goals this year is to make various kinds of salad dressing.  I love a good deal in the grocery store, and certainly bottled salad dressing is one of the things that you can buy very inexpensively, with sales and coupons.  However, I've noticed that most of the kinds on sale expire within a couple of months, so stocking up proves to be rather pointless.  And, I'm not always fond of the ingredients listed on the back of the bottle.  With just a few basic ingredients, you can make a ton of different kinds of dressings that taste wonderful, are fresh, and are satisfying because you made them with your own two hands!

As I go a bit further into my salad dressing making process, I'll share a post with you on some of the basic ingredients to have on hand if you're looking to make mostly your own dressings.

The first dressing I'm sharing is one that I've used countless times, changing it up a bit each time.  The main ingredient in this one is:  Jam.  And, this dressing works best on a salad that mixes greens with fruit, perfect for any time of year, even in the winter when you can combine some fresh fruits with canned or dried ones.  I recommend making this salad on individual plates, but you could also mix it together in a large serving bowl.  When I've tried it this way, sometimes the fruit tends to drop to the bottom of the bowl, but that may be solved by mixing the dressing in with the salad in the bowl.  

Mixed Greens & Fruit Salad with Sweet Fruity Salad Dressing 

Printable Version

Dressing:

1/4 cup jam {I have used strawberry, raspberry and peach--all homemade, but store bought would work fine too}

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil {or olive oil.  I prefer the vegetable simply because it holds up better once refrigerated}

salt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl, or jar with a tight fitting lid, combine all ingredients except for the oil.  Whisk together, or shake in the jar until well combined.  

Add oil and shake again.  

Save olive oil jars and other glass jars for mixing and storing dressing.

Refrigerate until needed.  Pour over salad.

Salad

Mixed Greens, torn into bite sized pieces

A mixture of any of the following:

Craisins

Mandarin Oranges, from a can {you can also use segments of fresh oranges}

Blueberries

Strawberries, sliced

Toasted almonds

caramelized pecans

Place greens onto individual salad plates.  Top with fruits and nuts of choice.  Drizzle salad dressing over top.

A Classic: Tomato, Mozzarella & Basil Salad

Can I have a blog about cooking from scratch without posting a recipe of this classic summer salad?!  Absolutely not!  I have always loved this salad, 

via Simply Recipes

but one thing that wasn't quite right for me was the fact that I had to cut every bite in order to enjoy it, which meant more time before it actually hit my taste buds.  Solution: chop it all up before serving!  The best part of this recipe is really in the dressing, so be sure to read the whole post, or at least scroll to the bottom, for the best balsamic vinaigrette ever!

Gather four tomatoes, one ball of fresh mozzarella cheese, and 12 basil leaves.

 Dice the tomatoes.  Cut the cheese into bite size chunks, and slice the basil into thin strips.  Mix together in a bowl.  Top with dressing (recipe below), enough to coat the mixture, but not make it soggy.

This is my absolute favorite dressing for balsamic vinaigrette.  I always use it for this salad, but it's also great drizzled on sliced avocados, or on a garden salad.  I can't take credit, though, my sweet friend Evyn, gave it to me a few years ago.  

Dressing:

1/2 cup water
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground pepper
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Combine water, vinegar, sugar, and flour. Using a deep bowl, microwave 4-5 minutes until thickened. Stir. Pour into food processor and add mustard, salt, pepper, and onion. With machine running, slowly pour in oil. Process for 30 seconds. Chill. Makes about 2.5 cups.