SPCC - Color Combo #2

~Recipe has been added at the end of the post.

I love this week's Color Combo:

To be honest I was having a blank with what to do as a project. But I'm hosting a recipe swap on a myspace group and one of the recipes I'm doing is a chicken & pasta salad. The colors of the salad happen to be those of the color combo! How cool is that? So here's my 6x6 recipe lo.

Visit http://spcolorcombos.blogspot.com/ for the latest challenge!

This recipe is certainly a favorite in our house especially in the summer when it's nearly in the 100s out. It also the perfect recipe for any group gathering, baby showers, pot lucks and cook outs to name a few. I made it this week for a special reason. My husband's best friend J and J's girlfriend where down here for a brief but fun visit and I wanted to make sure we had plenty of food to feed our guests and still have left-overs. Helpful tips are at the end of the recipe. If you have questions let me know. I'll warn you now if you don't care for salads this is still very yummy and refeshing.

Zesty Chicken & Pasta Salad
Total Time 1 hour 30 mins
Servings - 12

Ingredients:
2Lbs Chicken Tenders
24oz Tri Colored Rotini Pasta
1/2 Cup Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
1 1/2 Cups Strawberries
2 Cups Grapes
1 Can Sliced Olives
2 Cans Mandarin Oranges
2 Large Apples
LARGE Bowl - 42 cup/10 liter
Directions:
Cook Pasta & Chicken separately. Spices can be added to chicken.
Normal cook time is between 45-60 minutes. Once Pasta is done, drain and rinse and put into large bowl. When chicken is cook through, chop into cubes or stripes. Add to large bowl with pasta. Let cool for 30 minutes.

Fixing the fruit:
Slice strawberries. Chop Apples into small cubes. Slice grapes in half for better handling. Drain mandarin oranges & sliced olives. All can be added to a smaller bowl while waiting for pasta and chicken to cool.

Putting it all together:
Once Pasta and Chicken is cooled add fruits to large bowl. Add dressing and stir to get a good coverage. Salad can be served immediately, or for best taste refrigerate overnight(recommended).

Tips:
You can add more dressing and fruits to taste. Just like a normal salad croutons being added is yummy. As an extra topping add your favorite shredded cheese .
Veggies can be a used instead. Broccoli, tomatoes, cucumber, celery, ect.
Pre- Cooked Chicken from the deli can also be used.