Saturday, February 15, 2014

Susie Brinegar's Penne Pasta Salad

Sometimes being creative is much more fun than following a recipe. I love how Susie experimented on this Penne Pasta Salad. She writes, " I don't have an exact recipe - Several months ago I bought that Penne salad at Costco's and loved it.  It was expensive, though.  So I just read the ingredients and came home and made my own salad!  The quantity is not exact - I just put in as much as I like, so I'll give you the ingredients and you can do the same. Try it!  Hope it turns out good!"
It sounded so good, I made it too and added chopped celery, chopped sweet red pepper and chopped lettuce.

Ingredients:
16 oz of cooked (al dente) penne pasta and drained
Cooked skinless chicken breast, chopped (I usually use two)
Whole Kalamata olives
8 oz can (or more) of artichoke hearts, quartered
One or two cups of cherry tomatoes
Medium size red onion chopped
Garlic salt
Celery salt
Onion salt
Salt
Pepper
Toss with Greek salad dressing.  Caesar dressing and also Italian dressing are good.
Top with crumbled Feta cheese

Options: Top with toasted Pine Nuts.