CHICKEN CLUB PASTA SALAD

This is an incredible Summer style pasta salad I have made a few times recently.

We love pasta salads with either rotini, macaroni, or ditalini pasta, red bell peppers, red onion, sliced black olives, parmesan cheese, and Italian style dressing. But this one caught my eye one day a few weeks ago…so, we made it. Wow, it’s really flavorful, creamy, and easy to make.

One of the keys is a “pantry hack” of using Ranch dressing mix. It add so much to a lot of things just using a half teaspoon or so. Most of the time, I made it without the leftover cooked chicken, but that is an option that makes it more of a meal. Finished with cubed avocado and fresh, ripe diced tomatoes, this salad is creamy, cool, and goes so well with almost anything. Its got everything!

The photo is without chicken, so don’t look for it! The only other thing I would add is sliced olives, but I was out of at the time.

Ingredients:

• 4-5 ounces of rotini pasta, colored or plain

• 1/4 cup buttermilk, sub whole milk if you want

• 1/2 tsp Ranch dressing mix

• 2 tbsp of mayonnaise

• 2 tbsp chopped chives or green onions

• 2 thick slices of bacon, cooked crisp and chopped

• 1/2 cup minced celery

• 1/4 cup sliced black olives

• 1/4 cup crumbled feta or blue cheese

• 4 ounces fresh diced tomatoes

• 1 ripe avocado, cubed

• 1 cup cooked chicken, chopped – optional

• Fresh cracked black pepper

Directions:

• Cook the pasta according to package directions. I suggest cooking all the way (not al dente). Drain and rinse. Chill in the refrigerator.

• In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, butter milk, and Ranch dressing mix.

• Add the cooked pasta, celery, and chives and fold in, mixing well.

• Add the rest of the ingredients and fold into the salad. Season with fresh cracked black pepper to taste. Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.