Best of...

I have so many cookbooks at home. And what do I use them for? Oh display purposes. I am giving up valuable cabinet space for this? I decided to sit down, pull a cookbook out & make my meals for the week from it. Or at least try to make my meals for the week from it.

So for the next few posts we have "The Best of Pilsbury 2007". I had mapped out an Asian Chicken Crunchy Pasta Salad, Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake & Zucchini-Hamburger Casserole. I made my list like a week and a half ago. I just made this stuff on Monday & Tuesday.

Asian Crunchy Chicken Pasta Salad

Salad:

rotini pasta- regular or whole wheat

sugar snap peas, maybe 1 or 2 cups

chicken, about 3 chicken breasts

green onions, about 12 bunches

sliced water chestnuts, one small can

Sliced Almonds

Dressing:

1 cup Mayo

2 tsp Soy Sauce

1/2 tsp Pepper

1/2 Ground ginger

So the story of the salad starts as this. I had every intention of making this for dinner on 7/3, only I went to Happy Hour instead.

So I get up on 7/4 and start dicing the chicken & sauteing it. Then my friend Julie showed up & we went off to the pool. (No worries, I finished cooking the chicken first, then put it in the fridge). SO then its the Fourth of July and I don't feel like cooking on 7/5, but felt I had to do something. So I made the pasta & the peas portion. I wasn't feeling well so I just put it in the fridge when it was done. 7/6 rolls around & we have plans for the day. Finally 7/7 I say I have to get this salad put together! I finished up the dressing & slicing the onions. Finally complete! So really this was a 6 day salad in the making. It was good, a little different & I think too many onions, but I am not an onion person so this could be the reason.

Here are the basics:

1. dice & cook the chicken. I seasoned mine with a little S&P

2. Cook pasta until almost al dente, then add snap peas. (I cooked my peas wwwaaayyy too long)

3. Drain pasta & peas & allow to cool.

4. Add sliced green onions, water chestnuts & chicken to the pasta & peas.

5. In a separate bowl, mix the dressing ingredients

6. Add to the pasta & chill until ready to serve. When serving, sprinkle with toasted almonds.

As you can tell from the pictures, I don't have any sugar peas, well I do, only they are out of the pods b/c I cooked them too long. BUT they were from our garden, as were the green onions!