Chicken-Margherita Pasta Salad

Happy Sunday, everyone!  I am finally back.  You may have noticed that I took a week-long hiatus from blogging.  The reasons for this were three-fold:

• 1.  I did not take any pictures from Monday to Friday.  (That’s a first!)
• 2.  It was just really flipping busy this week.
• 3.  I did not want to show you the kind of junk we ate this week.  I’ll admit… there was a trip to Taco Bell thrown in there… (Sometimes, life just gets in the way.)

But I am back today and I have good news to share AND a recipe!

Here’s a little preview of the food…

But we’ll get back to that in a minute.

Let’s start with the good news…

If you’ve been following my blog for a good bit of time, then you may remember that I have mentioned that my husband lost his job last year.  Budget cuts led his district to eliminate some positions, and his Assistant Principal position was cut.  He wasn’t jobless… he was given a job teaching P.E. this year (which is what he did before he was an Assistant Principal).  And he has had a great year.  However, he was really disappointed to lose a job that he truly loved. 

Well, changes are coming to the Confessions Household!  This past Tuesday, he was announced as a new Assistant Principal of a school in York, South Carolina!  We’re thrilled about this news! 

AND…

as of 3:20 p.m. on Friday… we are on SPRING BREAK!!!  Woo Hoo!  I was beginning to think this day would never come!  Spring Break is much later this year than it usually is… and we’ve been feeling it.  So… NO SUNDAY BLUES for US!

So now… on to the new recipe.

Because I am a part of the FoodBuzz Tastemaker Program, I am able to receive samples of products from time to time to review them.  This week, I received a bag of Tyson’s Grilled and Ready Fully Cooked Chicken Breast Strips.  (I received this item for free as a part of the Tastemaker Program.)

I thought about this a lot.  What kind of recipe to create? 

I love all foods Italian, so that was part of my inspiration.  I also knew that we had a picnic to go to today, and I was thinking about pasta salad, because I think it’s a great picnic food.

So… ta-da!

Chicken-Margherita Pasta Salad was born!

Ingredients:

• 11 oz. chopped chicken breasts (1/2 the 22 oz. bag of Tyson Grilled and Ready Strips)
• 1 1/4 cups sliced grape tomatoes
• 1 cup of Perlini Mozzarella, halved
• 3 Tbsp. sliced fresh basil
• 12 oz. bowtie pasta
• 1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Prep:

Cook pasta to an al dente firmness.  While pasta cooks, chop all of the ingredients.  When pasta is finished, rinse with cold water and drain.  Combine all ingredients and mix until they are incorporated.  Serve immediately or refrigerate until time to serve. 

This pasta is very refreshing and light!  The basil gives it a little pop of flavor.  You could definitely use whole-wheat pasta if desired. I personally plan to enjoy it at a special picnic we’ll be going to later… with some wine!

The Tyson Chicken Strips made it very easy to prepare this pasta salad.  They are a great convenience food, and I think I would buy them again to keep on hand.  These would be great for making quesadillas, chicken tacos, or chicken salad.  (And I actually DID make some chicken salad today, too.  That recipe coming soon!)

Happy Sunday to all of you!