Grape Chicken Pasta Salad

This is probably my favorite pasta salad recipe. I got it from my good friend Kimberly and have since shared it with family and friends and it's always a hit and never a noodle left in the bowl. We most recently made this for our beach bonfire cookout. It actually transported really well and was the perfect compliment to our bonfire roasted hot dogs. I don't have a lot of pictures of this one because my mom actually made this while I was making a Texas Sheet cake, another good bonfire compliment. But this salad is really easy, chop up a few things, boil some chicken, dump it all in a big bowl, add some dressing, and be prepared to to indulge in a fabulous pasta salad. I say the more grapes the better, I like a grape in every bite. But all the ingredients can be adjusted to your taste. Kimberly has used canned chicken for this or one of those ready made rotisserie chickens works well too if you're looking for short cuts. If you've had grape chicken croissant sandwiches, this is a pasta variation of those. This is a great summer salad. I love it! Love it!

Recipe make a lot, you might want to make half a recipe for a smaller group.

Grape Chicken Pasta Salad

2 pkg (12 oz) bowtie pasta
2 cans (20 oz) crushed pineapple (drained)
2 c. chopped celery
4 bunches chopped green onions
1-2 c. whole cashews (can substitute almonds or favorite nut)
3-4 c. red grapes (halved)
4 cooked chicken breasts (chopped)
1 c. mayonnaise
1 bottle (16 oz.) Kraft Coleslaw dressing

Chinese Chicken Salad

Although one of my cooking goals lately is to try and perfect new salad dressings, this salad, sadly, is not one of those recipes. However, this is my new favorite salad! And it's so easy and easy to have everything on hand. One night I was craving an Chinese chicken salad from Cheesecake factory, CPK or something of the like, but it was midweek, and I didn't want to spend the money or eat out. So I got creative, well not really. I just went to the restaurant web sites and read the list of ingredients in their salads and put together my own. That was the easy part, but it all comes down to the dressing. I wish I could say I whipped up my own, but nope, I didn't. I was previously introduced to the Kraft Asian Toasted Sesame dressing and loved it. (I actually buy the light to cut calories and it is delicious too.) And it was the perfect choice for my salad dressing. I told my mom about it, and of course she doctored it up by mixing the dressing, about half and half, with the juice from the can of mandarin oranges. It is the perfect combo! The list of ingredients is below, I just add however much I think looks good. It's a no recipe recipe!

Mixed greens, spring mix, or greens of your choice
Mandarin oranges, in juice, not syrup
avocado
Chicken breast (I'm into quick and easy, so I use canned chicken, works perfect!)
Green onions
Chow Mein Noodles
Kraft Asian Toasted Sesame dressing, mixed with mandarin orange juice (1 to 1)
You could also add almonds, sesame seeds, bean sprouts