After a couple of weeks off due to vacations and crazy schedules, WE'RE BACK!! And with one of my favorite summer dishes, to boot!
Wanna know the glory of this dish, other than deliciousness? It's super customizable. Gram likes green grapes, I always use red. Gram uses ring macaroni, I use rotini. Gram adds black olives, I *gag* *shudder* *goosebumps* do not.
Are you a pepper lover? I'd bet they'd be delicious in this! Hate onions? Leave 'em out! Prefer mayo over Miracle Whip? Well, then, we can't be friends.
Okay, fine...I'll let it slide this time.
Anyway, this is super easy to make and if you're in a hurry and need it to come together even faster? Substitute the chicken breasts for canned chicken. Friends, sometimes you have to trade health for time...it's just a fact of life. ;)
Let's get started...first off, cook up your seasoned chicken:
Peel and mash (as coarsely as you prefer) your eggs:
Add in halved grapes:
Onion and celery:
And black olives, if desired *shiver*:
At approximately this place in your recipe, add in your cooked pasta and shake your fist at the flighty food blogger who gave you this recipe but forgot to take a photo of said pasta.
Add everything together.
Now, mix up your dressing so it is a nice, pale yellow and pour it over the top:
Gently stir to combine, adding more dressing to desired "moistness" (yeesh, that's a gross word to use when food blogging).
Immediately before serving, sprinkle cashews on top and dig in!
The cashews TOTALLY make this recipe. Perfect amount of salt and crunch!
Gram's Cashew Chicken Pasta Salad
Printable Recipe
3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, seasoned with season salt and microwaved until done, diced (or 2 cans of canned chicken, drained)
2 boxes of ring macaroni
6 hard boiled eggs
5-6 handfuls of grapes, halved
1 sm onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
As many nasty black olives as you so desire, sliced
Cashews
Dressing:
Miracle Whip
Mustard
Sugar
Pepper
Bring large pot of heavily salted water to a boil (like Mario Batali says, "It should be as salty as the sea!") and cook pasta as directed on box, drain and rinse in cold water. Microwave your chicken breasts on high, in 6 minute increments, until done. Peel and rinse eggs and mash coarsely. In large bowl add pasta, chicken, eggs, grapes, onion, celery and black olives. In separate bowl, start with 1 c. Miracle Whip and 1/4 c. mustard. 1 "gram handful" of sugar and a few shakes of pepper from the pepper shaker. Combine well and pour over ingredients in other bowl, gently combine. If you need more dressing, start with small amounts of Miracle Whip and mustard and add until your pasta is as "dressed" as you prefer! I like mine a tad on the dry side, but there's nothing wrong with a heavily sauced pasta salad. (Well, okay, there is, but I didn't want to tell you to your face.) ;)
Enjoy!
Wanna know the glory of this dish, other than deliciousness? It's super customizable. Gram likes green grapes, I always use red. Gram uses ring macaroni, I use rotini. Gram adds black olives, I *gag* *shudder* *goosebumps* do not.
Are you a pepper lover? I'd bet they'd be delicious in this! Hate onions? Leave 'em out! Prefer mayo over Miracle Whip? Well, then, we can't be friends.
Okay, fine...I'll let it slide this time.
Anyway, this is super easy to make and if you're in a hurry and need it to come together even faster? Substitute the chicken breasts for canned chicken. Friends, sometimes you have to trade health for time...it's just a fact of life. ;)
Let's get started...first off, cook up your seasoned chicken:
Peel and mash (as coarsely as you prefer) your eggs:
Add in halved grapes:
Onion and celery:
And black olives, if desired *shiver*:
At approximately this place in your recipe, add in your cooked pasta and shake your fist at the flighty food blogger who gave you this recipe but forgot to take a photo of said pasta.
Add everything together.
Now, mix up your dressing so it is a nice, pale yellow and pour it over the top:
Gently stir to combine, adding more dressing to desired "moistness" (yeesh, that's a gross word to use when food blogging).
Immediately before serving, sprinkle cashews on top and dig in!
The cashews TOTALLY make this recipe. Perfect amount of salt and crunch!
Gram's Cashew Chicken Pasta Salad
Printable Recipe
3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, seasoned with season salt and microwaved until done, diced (or 2 cans of canned chicken, drained)
2 boxes of ring macaroni
6 hard boiled eggs
5-6 handfuls of grapes, halved
1 sm onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
As many nasty black olives as you so desire, sliced
Cashews
Dressing:
Miracle Whip
Mustard
Sugar
Pepper
Bring large pot of heavily salted water to a boil (like Mario Batali says, "It should be as salty as the sea!") and cook pasta as directed on box, drain and rinse in cold water. Microwave your chicken breasts on high, in 6 minute increments, until done. Peel and rinse eggs and mash coarsely. In large bowl add pasta, chicken, eggs, grapes, onion, celery and black olives. In separate bowl, start with 1 c. Miracle Whip and 1/4 c. mustard. 1 "gram handful" of sugar and a few shakes of pepper from the pepper shaker. Combine well and pour over ingredients in other bowl, gently combine. If you need more dressing, start with small amounts of Miracle Whip and mustard and add until your pasta is as "dressed" as you prefer! I like mine a tad on the dry side, but there's nothing wrong with a heavily sauced pasta salad. (Well, okay, there is, but I didn't want to tell you to your face.) ;)
Enjoy!
I would never have thought to add grapes. I think my husband would love this
ReplyDeleteLooks delicious and welcome back. Enjoyed your vacation pictures. But my oh my did I miss our 5 Q F. Hope to see it back this week.
ReplyDelete