Chicken, Avocado and Bacon Pasta Salad

Marshall, Minnesota is an amazing small town to raise a family.  We’ve been here for four years and consider it a complete blessing.  I won’t bore you with the list of reasons why we love it because it will be much simpler to share the one and only reason we don’t:  distance from family.  Our closest relative is 15 hours away and we often throw elaborate pity-parties over that fact.

To combat the tears, we make it a priority in our time, budget and travels to visit with family all over the country and we wouldn’t think of choosing anything different. Even more exciting for us is when family is brave enough to venture to our corner of the world.  We know Marshall could never be considered a tourist destination which means they love us as much as we love them!

For the past two weeks, my parents have been visiting from Ohio and claim to be enjoying themselves.  Again, I know Marshall doesn’t offer much in excitement so the least I can offer is some good cooking in exchange for their sacrifice.  Tonight’s display appreciation was in the form of this pasta salad.  It is my own recipe that has evolved over many years and I love where it is right now but isn’t there always room for improvement?

Chicken Pasta Salad with Avocado and Bacon

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Ingredients

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• 1 lb whole wheat pasta, cooked and drained
• 2 avacadoes, diced
• 1 head broccoli, diced
• 4 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1 cucumber, seeded and diced
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 4 oz can diced black olives
• 1 package real bacon pieces (don’t use fake!!)
• 2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
• 3/4 C freshly grated parmesan cheese

Dressing

• 1 Tb dijion mustard
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 C red wine vinegar
• 3/4 C extra virgin olive oil

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Instructions

1. Whisk together dressing ingredients in a small bowl.  Combine salad ingredients in large bowl and pour dressing over the top.  Toss well to combine.
2. Serve at room temperature for best flavor.

• Author: Carole Jones

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/10th
• Calories: 551
• Sugar: 5g
• Sodium: 1027mg
• Fat: 32g
• Saturated Fat: 6g
• Unsaturated Fat: 22g
• Trans Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 53g
• Fiber: 10g
• Protein: 17g
• Cholesterol: 15mg