Chilled Pasta Salad With Chicken

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• 2 suddenly salad pasta salad mix, original flavor
• 1 cup kalamata olive, pitted and drained
• 1 (8 ounce) jar pimentos, drained
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 6 roma tomatoes
• 1 (16 ounce) package baby portabella mushrooms
• 1/2 lb cheese, diced (we use a mix of cheddar and pepper jack)
• 1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons pesto sauce
• 1/2 cup ranch dressing
• 1 tablespoon light olive oil
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt

Recipe

• 1 1. cube chicken into bite size pieces. season chicken with oregano and garlic salt. fry cubed chicken in 1tbsp light olive oil until cooked through. drain excess oil from chicken in a fine mesh strainer. set aside to cool.
• 2 2. prepare suddenly salad pasta according to directions on the box.
• 3 3. prepare suddenly salad dressing mix according to the box. to the dressing mix, add pesto and ranch dressing. set aside.
• 4 4. while chicken cools, drain kalamata olives and pimentos, set aside.
• 5 5. rough chop red onion, mushrooms, and tomatoes.
• 6 6. dice cheese into 1/2" cubes.
• 7 7. combine cooked and rinsed pasta with dressing mixture. add in kalamata olives, pimento, red onion, mushrooms, and cheese.
• 8 8. add in cooked and drained chicken cubes. stir to combine. allow to cool in the refrigerator at least one hour.