I’m a pretty big fan of pasta. Jeff enjoys spaghetti much more than I do, but dishes with ravioli or penne are guaranteed wins for me. Plus I practically lived off Kraft Dinner when I was in college. Unfortunately, there’s only so much KD one can eat before getting annoyed with the noodles splitting and turning into a gelatinous blob with powdered cheese. We had such success with the Chicken Primavera that I went looking for another pasta dish to try.
The recipe
Chicken Club Pasta Salad from allrecipes.com.
Ingredient changes
I made quite a few changes with this recipe but it mostly came down to personal preferences or what ingredients I had on hand. First, I had chicken breasts so I fried them with a bit of salt and pepper instead of buying a rotisserie chicken. Second, I browsed the comments of those that made the recipe and they said twelve slices of bacon was a bit much so we used six. Third, I used old cheddar cheese instead of Muenster. Fourth, I completely eliminated the tomatoes and avocado because we don’t like tomato and avocado is too high maintenance for a food. Finally, to replace the red colour lost with the tomatoes, I added a red pepper.
Ease (or not) of prep
We used almost every dish in the kitchen to make this but overall it was similar to the Chicken Primavera dish. Chop some veggies, cook some chicken, make some pasta, throw it all in a bowl. With Jeff helping, it took us about 45 minutes to pull together. Prep might not have been so bad but clean up was a nightmare! This image features only half of our kitchen; behind me is another stack of used dishes, a frying pan, a pot, and a pile of leavings from the vegetables. If there’s one thing I hate as much as cooking, it’s doing dishes.
The Boyfriend Test: Pass
I’m beginning to think The Boyfriend Test is unnecessary because I don’t think Jeff has met a food he didn’t like. He said this was really delicious but it could use more bacon (go figure).
Picky Eater Test: Pass
Overall this was pretty good. I don’t mind when green peppers are cooked into a dish but I struggle with their raw, earthy flavour. I tried to eat them but eventually I had to pick them out of my portion. Also, next time I make this, I’ll buy proper cheese because I like the bite of a sharper flavour. It will be a great dish to make and bring to a family gathering in the summer… that is, if the party isn’t over by the time we finish cleaning up the friggin’ mess.
The Curmudgeonly Cook 