Chicken, Bean, and Blue Cheese Pasta Salad with Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette

WHOA DOUBLE FEATURE!  This recipe is also from the Cooking Light Cookbook, 'Fresh Food Fast' and it was another hit in our house.  I know my mother (who is probably the only one actually reading this) will LOVE this recipe because it is a very light meal.  

I would say this is perfect for those summer nights when you're tired and don't want a heavy meal but you can make it ahead and enjoy it later.  The only change I made to this recipe was to use Barilla multi-grain pasta (yep snuck that one by the guy in my house). He didn't even notice the difference.  I found the sun-dried tomatoes NOT packed in oil at Giant in the produce near the peppers in a resealable bag.  A rotisserie chicken makes this fast!

As of today's post, we are the first ones to review this recipe and give it a 4 (out of 5)!

I hope you enjoy this in your home as much as we did in ours!

Recipes by Cooking Light, Fresh Food Fast, April 2009

Prep: 6 minutes; Cook: 16 minutes

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 16 minutes
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2  cups  uncooked rotini (corkscrew pasta)
• 1 1/2  cups  (2-inch) cut green beans (about 6 ounces)
• 2  cups  diced cooked chicken breast (about 3/4 pound)
• 1/4  cup  (1 ounce) crumbled blue cheese
• 1/4  cup  Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette

Preparation

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Add beans during last 5 minutes of cooking. Drain pasta and beans; rinse with cold water until cool.
2. Combine pasta mixture and remaining ingredients; toss gently to coat.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 315 (25% from fat)

Fat: 9g (sat 2.7g,mono 3.9g,poly 1.1g)

Protein: 28.8g

Carbohydrate: 30.1g

Fiber: 2.8g

Cholesterol: 65mg

Iron: 2.5mg

Sodium: 192mg

Calcium: 75mg

Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast, Oxmoor House, APRIL 2009

Sun-Dried Tomato Vinagirette recipe (also by Cooking Light, Fresh Food Fast, April 2009)

Prep: 4 minutes
This recipe goes with Chicken, Bean, and Blue Cheese Pasta Salad with Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette

Prep Time: 4 minutes
Yield: 1/4 cup (serving size: 1 tablespoon)

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons  balsamic vinegar
• 1  tablespoon  olive oil
• 1  tablespoon  water
• 2  tablespoons  chopped sun-dried tomatoes, packed without oil
• 1  tablespoon  chopped fresh basil
• 1  tablespoon  chopped red onion

Preparation

1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Stir in tomatoes, basil, and onion.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 43 (75% from fat)

Fat: 4g (sat 0.5g,mono 2.5g,poly 0.5g)

Protein: 0.3g

Carbohydrate: 2.6g

Fiber: 0.3g

Cholesterol: 0.0mg

Iron: 0.2mg

Sodium: 37mg

Calcium: 6mg