Easy Fast and Cheap: Chicken Bow-Tie Pasta Salad

Monday, July 25, 2011

Chicken Bow-Tie Pasta Salad

Makes 4 servings, 2 cups each

2 cups farfalle (bow-tie pasta), uncooked
6 oz. Grilled Chicken Breast Strips
2 cups fresh broccoli florets
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes or 1 large tomato, cut into chunks
1/4 cup sliced black olives
1/2 cup Colby & Monterey Jack Cheese Crumbles
1/2 cup Zesty Italian Dressing
1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

1. Cook pasta as directed on package, adding broccoli to the cooking water for the last 2 min. of the pasta cooking time; drain.

2. Toss chicken, tomatoes, dressing, cheese crumbles and olives in large bowl. Add pasta mixture; mix lightly.

3. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Refrigerate several hours or until chilled.

1 comment:

The Good LifeAugust 30, 2011 at 4:13 PM
I thought the broccoli and noodles were a little mushy. I liked the other pasta salad more.
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Freezer Cooking Tips From Freezer Friendz

When wrapping meals for freezer: make sure to double wrap to prevent freezer burn. Using one layer of plastic wrap and a top layer of foil is best.

Freezer Bags: Use GOOD freezer bags! Don't skimp on cheapo freezer bags or your food will taste like plastic!

Meat in Freezer Meals: Thawed meat must be cooked before it can be refrozen. Frozen cooked meat can not be refrozen once thawed.

Freezing Soup: Pour soup into gallon size Ziploc bag. Lay bag of soup flat on a cookie sheet in the freezer until frozen, then remove cookie sheet. Doing this allows soup to freeze flat, so it can stack easily with other meals in your freezer.

Flash Marinade: Put raw chicken or beef in a ziploc baggie, pour in your marinade, then freeze. In the thawing process, your meat will be infused with the marinade and ready to cook!

Cooking Noodles: Cook noodles only 3 minutes, drain and immediately run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Noodles will freeze well and not turn to mush if done this way. Tip from freezerchicks blog site!

Slow-Cooking Chicken for the Freezer: You can fill crock pot with chicken breasts and pour a can of chicken broth over meat. Cook on high for 4 hours. Another method that gives the meat more flavor is to layer 1 sliced onion in the bottom of slow cooker. Top with chicken. Sprinkle with seasoned salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cook on low for 4 hours or until done. With either of these methods, you need to keep an eye on your meat to make sure you do not overcook. Shred or dice and freeze in 2 cup portions for use in casseroles, tacos, etc...

Freezing Cooked Ground Beef: You can boil ground beef, then freeze it - it will be easy to thaw and use for tacos or something similar! To do this, add raw ground beef to large pot. Add onion, salt & pepper. Fill pot with water until water is 1" above the top of the meat. Boil, stirring occasionally to break up chunks. Meat is finished when no longer pink. Drain off the water (which drains off the fat).

1lb. raw ground beef=11 oz. cooked ground beef=2 1/2- 3cups

3lb. raw ground beef=2 lbs. cooked ground beef = 7 1/2- 9cups
Freezing Sandwiches: You can make lunchmeat sandwiches ahead of time and freeze them. Just assemble the meat and cheese on bread and place in ziploc sandwich bags. Place all bagged sandwiches into a large ziploc freezer bag. I did this once with cheap sandwich bags and the sandwiches tasted like plastic; however, they taste fine if you use Ziploc bags.

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