Me again!  My pantry contents are really starting to whittle away, which is great, because I’ve managed to save a ton on grocery bills over the past few weeks.  As a result, over the weekend, I was inspired to make healthy pasta salad! 

What I already had:

Cooked diced chicken breasts, whole wheat rotini pasta, sun dried tomatoes in oil, Kalamata olives (left over from a birthday get together a few days earlier), Feta cheese, olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, Dijon mustard, garlic, pinch of paprika, salt, pepper.

What I bought:

Yellow bell pepper, red bell pepper and green onions.

What I used:

2 cups cooked diced chicken

2 cups cooked whole wheat rotini pasta

 4 sundried tomatoes, removed from oil and thinly sliced

¼ cup of Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced

¼ cup of crumbled Feta cheese

1 cup of mixed yellow and red peppers, finely sliced

½ cup diced green onions

Dressing:

¼ cup olive oil

4 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

½ tsp. dried oregano

½ tsp paprika

2 cloves garlic

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions.  Let it come to room temperature before adding the other ingredients.
2. In the meantime, mix together the dressing ingredients.  I like to do this by placing them in a jar or a tightly sealed plastic container and shaking it vigorously until it forms into a smooth creamy texture.
3. Once the pasta is cooled, add the rest of the ingredients and then toss it with the dressing.

For a lighter version of this recipe, you can add some of your favourite leafy greens.

Enjoy!