Tangy and Zesty Chicken Pasta Salad

Last week I was hankering for something zesty and tangy. Weird huh? I am not pregnant :-). I just wanted to put that bit of information out there. Anyways, so since I had this craving I decided to make a simple pasta salad recipe my sister shared with me. This literally is one of the easiest yet tastiest recipes and what makes it even better is it doesn’t take much time to prepare at all. If you are like me, you don’t have a ton of time everyday so quick dishes like this will be right up your ally. 

Be prepared for your tastebuds to be tantalized. 

Alls you need is: 

Tri-color Rotini pasta

Zesty Italian Dressing 

Cooked chicken breast chopped to your liking

Feta cheese crumbles 

Mini sweet peppers chopped finely 

Directions:

Bring water to a boil and toss in rotini and cook until al dente.

Cook chicken breast until done. 

While chicken is cooking, you can chop up your washed sweet peppers, removing the membranes, and set aside. 

Once chicken is finished cooking, allow to cool, and then chop into small pieces. Once noodles are done, drain and toss in a bowl. You can let the noodles cool if you want. I like to let my noodles cool a bit so I usually start cooking my noodles before I start the chicken. 

Once noodles are cooled a bit, toss in chicken, peppers, and add your zesty Italian dressing. 

Top with crumbled feta cheese. 

Enjoy!

Oh and here is the letter C my sweet baby worked on :-)

Don't forget the strawberry shortcakes lovelies

Yesterday the hubby gave me a break from cooking. Just typing that last sentence made me feel so excited all over again! I love it when he cooks because his food truly tastes divine! I am not just saying that because he is my husband. His food receives rave reviews from people all of the time because it is truly that delicious. He is the one who taught me how to cook and helps me perfect recipes. So hopefully you understand why I was so excited when he said he would cook. The menu was EVERYTHING! He cooked salmon with a blend of herbs and spices, Mediterranean style basmati rice with lemon and fresh herbs, Haricot Verts, and for dessert he made strawberry shortcakes! YUM!

 

Doesn’t it look delicious! The strawberry glaze and toppings were made from scratch by simply cooking chopped up strawberries and sugar on top of the stove. I love strawberry shortcakes because they aren’t too sweet but they are a light and airy dessert that doesn’t make me feel too guilty about eating two servings. I also think they are the perfect dessert for Valentines Day.

These treats are quick, easy, and pretty. Plus, I paid under $6 for 6 servings! The ingredients cost under six bucks! Aldi has a sell on their strawberries this week; they are on sale for $1.49 per carton. I purchased two cartons. The sponge cakes were $1.44 for a pack of six and the whip cream was $1.38 at Walmart. Talk about being simple and savvy!  

Lunch favorite...Chicken Quesadillas

Chicken Quesadillas Anyone?

When it comes to food, we LOVE ALL THINGS MEXICAN. During our first year of marriage I cooked tacos once and maybe even twice a week. My dad would make jokes about how much we ate tacos. Now that I have grown into a pretty good and versatile cook, I have moved beyond tacos. Although we still eat them, I now throw enchiladas, fajita’s, chalupa’s, and nachos into the mix. Out of all the Mexican inspired dishes I cook, chicken quesadilla’s are an all time favorite in our home…I make different variations because we really love quesadillas.  It’s just something about the airy and flaky tortilla shell that has been toasted in butter on top of the stove. Yummy!! I also love cooking chicken quesadillas because they are pretty simple to make. I usually cook a ton of chicken at the beginning of the week to use for several dishes. We are huge chicken eaters. 

I take some of the cooked chicken breast, dice it up, and use it to make the quesadillas. Talk about simple and quick. I’ll tell you just how quick it is to make these. My sister-in-law called and said she was near our home and asked if she could stop by to visit the kiddos. I had just walked in the house from picking up a few items from the supermarket and it was time to prepare lunch. I had some chicken already cooked in the fridge, I pulled it out, diced it up, and heated it up on the stovetop. While the chicken was heating up, I cut up some cilantro, green onion, and pulled out the shredded sharp cheddar and butter. Once the chicken was finished all I had to do was put my butter in the pan, add my burrito size tortilla, top with cheese and chicken, fold, and cook until cheese was melted and tortilla was a nice golden brown color. My taste buds are tingling! Once the quesadillas were finished, I cut them into triangles, topped them with fresh cilantro, & complimented them with a side of chunky salsa and sour cream.  Talk about simple and scrumptiously delicious! 

I use Great Value brand tortillas from Walmart. Great Price & taste great. 

Look at that nice golden brown color....GET IN MY BELLY!! 

Sometimes I whip up corn salsa...unfortunately I accidentally threw out

 the cilantro while cleaning out the fridge. Bummer. 

These quesadilla’s are perfect for dinner or lunch and the ingredients aren’t money snatchers for those who are cooking on a budget.

So instead of stressing about lunch or dinner tonight, why not whip up some quesadillas babe.

P. S. This seasoning is a staple in my kitchen. It really makes chicken taste divine.