Lemony Pasta-Veggie Salad with Chicken

Let me just explain my process to you  for a second. First, I read. A lot. Books, magazines, other blogs, you name it. I constantly have post-it flags and a notepad on me, and use them to mark down ideas of things I want to make when I come across them. Next, I menu plan before grocery shopping. I look at the weekly circulars, see if any ingredients for anything on my list of ideas are on sale, or if there are coupons. I shop, prep, cook and photograph throughout the week. Then I feed everything to The Hubs. If the recipes work out, I add them to my blog calendar which is generally planned about 3 weeks in advance.

Sometimes, in all that shuffle, I realize too late that I didn’t really get the photos I need. This salad is the perfect example of that. On Sundays, I usually make a big salad for lunch for the week, a meal for dinner, and occasionally a baked good as well, all of which I’m photographing. Two weeks ago, I made this salad. It was fantastically delicious. I added it to my blog calendar for today. When I finally went to edit the photos I took that day, I realized I only have finished product photos. No prep, no ingredients. Whoops! Let me assure you that the recipe is easy enough to follow. Cooking Light, as per usual, never lets me down, and this salad made the perfect lunch for me for several days. Try it, I know you can do it!

Lemony Pasta-Veggie Salad with Chicken recipe adapted from Cooking Light

• 1/4 cup uncooked pearl pasta **The original recipe calls for orzo
• 1/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind 
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon honey
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast
• 1/2 cup diced English cucumber 
• 1/2 cup prechopped red bell pepper 
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese **I used feta 

•  Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain and place in a large bowl.
• While pasta cooks, combine lemon rind and next 6 ingredients (through black pepper), stirring well with a whisk. Drizzle juice mixture over pasta; toss to coat. Add chicken and next 4 ingredients (through dill); toss gently to combine. Sprinkle with cheese

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