Healthy A to Z Pasta Salad

I made this recipe for Easter dinner. I whipped it up in about a half hour and it has everything from asparagus to zucchini, that's why it's called A to Z pasta :). There's also some tomatoes in there and yellow peppers. Next time, I want to add in some mushrooms in there because mushrooms make everything better in my opinion. The pasta I used was from World Market and it is the cutest Easter pasta with egg shapes, and chicks and bunnies. It was a fun dish and I felt good about eating it.

A to Z Pasta Salad

1 large chicken breast or 2 medium chicken breasts
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon water
1 clove garlic, slightly crushed
1 pound penne or other chunky pasta
1 bunch asparagus, tough ends removed and sliced into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch slices
1/2 yellow or red pepper, chopped
8 ounces grape or cherry tomatoes, halved if large
2-3 tablespoons fresh herbs of choice (I used basil, oregano, and parsley)
          and any other veggies you want
your favorite fat-free Italian salad dressing, to taste
salt and fresh pepper, to taste
optional: sliced black olives, added just before serving

Cut the chicken little cubes. Mix up a marinade of the soy sauce, cider vinegar, water, and garlic. Put the chicken into a bowl or zip-lock plastic bag and pour the marinade over it. Allow it to marinate for at least an hour, up to overnight, turning or stirring the chicken once in a while to make sure it all gets covered.
Remove the chicken from the marinade (discarding the marinade and garlic) and place it on a heated oiled skillet. Cook until done. Place the chicken in a large serving bowl and toss with a little Italian dressing.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. (Add a small amount of salt, if you want.) Once it boils, drop the asparagus and zucchini pieces into it and blanch for exactly 1 1/2 minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon into a bowl filled with cold water. Once they have cooled, add them to the chicken.
Use the same pot of boiling water to cook the pasta according to package directions. Once it reaches the al dente stage, drain it in a colander and rinse it with cold water. (Be careful not to overcook; you want it to still have some “bite” to it so that it won’t fall apart in the salad.) Drain it well and add it to the tofu and vegetables. Add the yellow or red pepper, tomatoes, and herbs and toss with enough salad dressing to coat but not drown the pasta. Add salt and fresh pepper to taste, and serve chilled or at room temperature. Makes enough for a crowd!

Fire-Roasted Tomato Salsa

My friend originally told me about this recipe. She said that her husband took it to work for a salsa competition and he won for best salsa. I made this and it was pretty good. I'm still searching for a better salsa, but this will do for now. I'm pretty picky about my salsas.

Fire-Roasted Tomato Salsa

Makes 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

1 to 2 fresh jalapeño chiles
3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice, preferably fire roasted
1/4 cup (loosely packed) chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Salt

My addition:
Onion, chopped finely, to taste
Ground pepper, to taste
Extra cilantro

1.    Roast the chiles and garlic.   In a small ungreased skillet over medium heat, roast the chiles and garlic, turning regularly, until they are soft and blotchy brown, about 10 minutes for the chiles, 15 minutes for the garlic.  Cool until handleable, then pull the stem(s) off the chile(s) and roughly chop.  Peel the skin off the garlic.  Scoop into a food processor and pulse until quite finely chopped.
2.    Finish the salsa.   Add the tomatoes with their juice.  Re-cover and pulse until you have a coarse puree.  Scrape into a serving dish.  Stir in the cilantro and lime juice.  Taste and season with salt, usually about 1/2  teaspoon.  You’re ready to serve.

I got this recipe from rickbayless.com