Pasta Primavera Chicken Salad Recipe

This is a nice, light cold main dish salad that is perfect for this time of year. The recipe calls for chicken, but you could substitute another protein if you like. Chickpeas or white beans might be especially good, or faux chicken strips. I tend to view the vegetable quantities as minimum suggestions and will use more if I have it. The base recipe is from Cooking Light.

1 c. carrot, julienne-sliced (3 oz) [I use the bagged matchstick cut carrots]
1 ½ c. broccoli flowerets (6 oz)
½ red bell pepper, cubed
½ green bell pepper, cubed
1 c. whole wheat rotini, cooked (3 oz)
1 c. white rotini, cooked (3 oz)
1 lb. chicken breast, cooked and cubed
½ onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 c. white vinegar [I always use apple cider vinegar]
1/3 c. rice vinegar
2 t. balsamic vinegar [I usually am generous with the balsamic]
2 t. sugar [or Splenda]
2 t. dried oregano, crushed
1 t. freshly ground black pepper
½ t. salt
1 T. olive oil

1. Cook carrot, peppers, and broccoli about 10 minutes in vegetable steamer until crisp-tender. Combine pasta, vegetable mixture, and cooked chicken in a bowl; set aside.
2. Coat a small saucepan with olive oil spray; place over medium heat until hot. Add onion and garlic; sauté until tender. Remove from heat; stir in vinegar and remaining ingredients. Pour over pasta mixture; toss well. Cover and chill.

Serves 4.

Each serving by my reckoning has 404 calories, 8.5 g fat, 5 g sugar, 43 g protein.