It is still warm enough to enjoy fresh salads as an entree. Plus our garden is still producing!
Jim’s Garden Pasta and Chicken Salad included cherry tomatoes from the garden. Yes, there are still fresh tomatoes to pick! The basil is from the plant in our kitchen window.
use leftovers and garden tomatoes and basil
Tomatoes are still ripening. We have a basil plant in the kitchen window.
We have baked boneless chicken breasts at least 2X a week. Do we have leftovers? Yes. They get used in tossed salads, enchiladas and other dishes.
Really, can you afford to waste any food these days?
Little food goes to waste in our empty nest house.
Jim cubed the leftover chicken breast for the Garden Pasta and Chicken Salad.
We also had leftover spiral pasta. It’s already chilled from being stored in the refrigerator. You sure don’t want to put warm pasta in a salad! It will wilt fresh ingredients. Any type of cheese would also melt some.
One way to expedite the cooling of the pasta after you drain is to rinse it with cold water. I also toss ice cubes in stirring them around to cool off the pasta that’s in the drainer. Add as much as needed to give the hot pasta a quick cool down. The melted ice will drain and slow any continued cooking.
It’s not unusual to have extra. We eat it and so does Meg if she comes by after an extra long day of work to grab some food. Her work place is less than 10 minutes from our house. Until her training period is over, she usually gets off work after 8 PM.
Plus, we love it when she comes by. It’s a quick stop and she doesn’t go past the kitchen most nights. We have a chat while she eats then leaves.
Fills our empty nest missing our kids bucket. We do get to see all of our kids regularly dependent on their location and work schedules.
So blessed by that!
Quick and Easy
Cutting and chopping is part of making any salad.
For this salad, you cube the chicken and slice the tomatoes in half. The balsamic dressing has you chopping or mincing the garlic and green onions. The basil is cut into small pieces. Look closely to see how small it is cut.
You want the flavor of basil to enhance all the ingredients, not to overpower it. That is why Jim cuts instead of tearing.
Toss everything together including the balsemic dressing.
It is ready to eat but we have found it is so much better if it marinates for several hours, even overnight. For the 2 of us it was a large amount. We had it for supper and several lunches during the week.
Jim’s Garden Pasta and Chicken Salad
Equipment
- knife and cutting board
- kitchen scissors
- large mixing bowl
- large pasta pot
- strainer
- large slotted spoon
Ingredients
- 1 large precooked boneless skinless chicken breasts Option
- 1 lb cooked spiral pasta
- 2 cups mozzarella balls
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- BALASIMIC DRESSING INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves before cutting in small pieces
- 2/3 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoon honey
- 1 green onion or shallot chopped finely
- 2 tablespoons finely cut or chopped fresh basil
- 3 cloves finely chopped garlic
- to taste salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes
Instructions
Balsamic Dressing
- Combine all ingredients in jar with lid. Whisk well until all ingredients are totally smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning to taste as needed. Use about 1/3 to marinate uncooked chicken. If you are using left over baked chicken, use all the dressing in the salad mixture.
- Making Pasta Chicken Salad
- Cook pasta al dente. You can also use leftover pasta. Cool.
- Chopped cooked chicken breast into small bite sized cubes.
- Half cherry tomatoes unless, they are smaller to bite sized
- Add mozzarella balls and cooled pasta
- Using a large mixing bowl add all ingredients as you prepare them. Add balsamic dressing and toss until well mixed. Chill as needed.
- The salad is ready to eat. For best taste, marinate several hours or overnight
Delicious to eat!
Summer is officially over in a few days but most of us live where there are still very warm days ahead. Still perfect for Jim’s Garden Pasta and Chicken Salad.
Hope you enjoy every bite!
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Linda,
Looks delicious!! Thanks so much for stopping by and for letting me know that you did by leaving such a kind comment!! I hope you are enjoying the week!!
Hugs,
De
Debbie-Dabble Blog
Thanks for coming by Debbie. Have a good Saturday!
This pasta salad looks so delicious! Yum! Pinning to make this weekend!
Michelle, thank you so much for the pin and comment! Hope you enjoyed the pasta salad. Have a good week!
An easy meal for the weekend too. Thanks for coming by Michelle.
I love pasta salad, but I’ve never thought to add chicken…duh! This looks delicious, and we always have chicken breasts left over, too. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
Thanks for stopping by. Sometimes just a little thing like using leftover chicken can open us up to lots of new ways to use them. Have a good day!
We have chicken a lot and many times I cook extra to have leftovers.
I need to try this salad dressing as a new one for our salads. Don isn’t big on pasta salad, but I am.
It’s great for lunch and holds up well for several days.
Great to repurpose leftovers. No leftovers go to waste in our home, as in yours. With only two of us, we try to cook only as needed, but sometimes we also have extra and then use in any type of dish. Love your pasta chicken salad and all those fresh tomatoes, superb and delicious
Still learning to cook with few leftovers these days. Thanks for coming by.