PHILLY PASTA SALAD SUPREME Recipe

O.K my husband came up with the name of this dish. My son Sammy was home sick from school today, so I wanted to prepare something that everyone could just grab when they are hungry. I knew I wanted to make a pasta salad, I decided to add diced rotisserie chicken that way my husband would feel like it was a "real meal" NO BULL, if it doesn't have meat then it just isn't dinner! I buy rotisserie chickens all the time, there are so many things you can use them for, and they are very affordable and quite tasty.
I will try to give the recipe for the dressing, the best that I can. I was basically just playing around, not really measuring just pouring into my food processor and mixing and tasting until I came up with what I liked. I suggest you start with the amounts I will give and adjust according to your taste. "Make It Your Own"! I bought an Artisian Rosemary Bread to serve with it. OMG THIS BREAD ROCKS! YOU HAVE TO RUN TO TARGET RIGHT NOW AND BUY A LOAF.. AMAZING! I Served it warm it really made this salad! Nice and crusty the way I like, loaded with flavor from the Rosemary!
Pasta salad is another one of those foods like soup...it gets better with time! This is a great thing to pack in your lunch the following day.


PHILLY PASTA SALAD SUPREME


1 pkg. pasta of your choice
1 rotisserie chicken diced
1 diced red pepper
1 diced cucumber
1 head of Broccoli
1/2 bag baby carrots diced
1 red onion diced
1 pkg cherry tomatoes sliced

Blanch the broccoli for about three minutes in boiling water. I love the way this makes the green burst! I think it taste so much better to do this when using broccoli in a salad, takes the bitter taste off. Be sure to run under cold water to stop the cooking process. I then sprinkled mine with some pepper flakes and salt, I would have added Parmesan cheese, but I did not have any handy. Toss all of the veggies in a 9 x 13 pan drizzle with dressing and let stand in the refrigerator.

Pasta Dressing

Start with 1 cup of good olive oil
1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
4 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper


Combine all ingredients into a food processor and pulse until sugar is dissolved. ( Or you can wisk by hand , but I'm all about the tools!) Store in the fridge until your salad is ready to be mixed. This salad is best made ahead of time so the dressing has time to be absorbed into the pasta and veggies.