7.23.2009

Chicken and Veggie Macaroni Salad

Ahhhh. Summertime and the living is easy. Especially if your air conditioner is in working order. We are gearing up for one of the longest heat spells in 15 years in our area! Our air conditioner is tired! It needs recharging or replacing or re-something or other!

When it gets too hot out (and in) I just don't feel like cooking anything too complicated. I came up with this macaroni salad and it was just perfect for a hot summer night. Isn't that a song from Grease or something??



First I cooked up 2 cups of macaroni and grilled a couple of chicken breasts and diced them. I cut up about a 1/2 cup of garden fresh green beans and par boiled them. I chopped a yellow bell pepper, 1 medium sweet onion, and 2 Roma tomatoes, a handful of pickled peppercinis , and a 1/2 cup of fresh sweet basil. I sliced up a couple of small zucchini as well. I tossed all of these terrific taste sensations together and then jazzed it all up with a bit of dressing.



This Trader Joe's season blend is rockin' (so don't bother knockin'). If you have a TJ's near you, I strongly encourage you to pick yourself up a bottle of this stuff. You can use it in so many ways.



For the dressing I combined 1 cup low fat mayo, juice from 1 lemon, 1 tsp salt, and 2 tbsp of Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute. I mixed it up well.



I poured the dressing over the other ingredients and mixed well, covered it and placed it in the fridge for several hours.

This is great just by itself or served with some crusty bread and some kind of refreshing drink. I personally think a great drink choice would be Lisa's Sake Sunset Cooler. Check out Lisa's blog for this yummy recipe!

~Stay Cool!~

32 comments:

Jenn said...

Delicious!! It's not summer without macaroni salad. I feel like having a picnic now. ;-)

When I was a kid, I used to stick a macaroni on each point on the fork and eat it four at a time. save the chicken and veggies last. I don't really know why I did that. I just thought it was fun. Maybe it made the macaroni salad last a little longer on my plate, even when I knew I'd go back and get seconds.

debra@dustjacket said...

I believe that is a song from Grease lil' lady.

Looks good, go sit under a fan now!!
xxx

Donna-FFW said...

Thhis salad is like a meal in itself, sounds wonderful. I will have to look for that spice!

Dajana said...

Pasta salads and salads in general are the best and lightest meal during these heats. I myself am eating nothing else.

Amy said...

Oh I wish I lived close to a Trader Joe's, that salad looks super yummy!

Cathy said...

mmmmmmm I love macaroni salad. I make one with shrimp, crab and coconut. Yours looks great! Enjoy the heat wave, it'll be gone way too soon.

mysteryhistorymom said...

Oh, this sounds fabulous! No Trader Joe's here, though.:( Lori

Hope your air conditioning is on the mend soon, Sweets!

Christo Gonzales said...

hey wheres the pot luck I wanna get me some of this....

Kathy B! said...

This sounds so good I think it's what we're having for dinner tonight!! Notice how I said "think." I'm allowing plenty of opportunities for things to go horribly wrong thus forcing me to serve oatmeal instead...

Krista said...

This looks amazing! Love it!

Creative Classroom Core said...

Love all those healthy veggies! Yum!

chow and chatter said...

lovely I was thinking of making macaroni today he he

♥peachkins♥ said...

Yumyum..my kind of macaroni salad...

Cathy said...

Hi Kim - This is a perfect HOT day meal. Can you believe the weather forecast!!!!

I love macaroni salad so this is on the menu this weekend. Thanks for the recipe.

Randi Troxell said...

oooh! i love any sort of macaroni salad and this looks like a winner!!

Mary Bergfeld said...

What a great way to beat the heat. This sounds and looks delicious.

Pam said...

I've never tried the seasoning blend before - I am heading to TJ's today so I'll pick some up. The macaroni salad looks fantastic.

i am the diva said...

mmm,everything looks so delicious

momstheword said...

Hi Kim! Looks yummy as usual.

Yeah, we're having the heat over here in Washington so I knew that you were having it worse over there.

In fact my son was just in Oregon a couple of weeks ago. This next week is going to be pretty hot for both of us!

I am doing well, busy and behind!

Lisa said...

A great summer salad! My dad would have loved it. It definitely shouts sunshine and picnic. And thanks for the link!

MaRyA said...

gotta try the dressing! have a cool summer!

noble pig said...

Sorry about the air...it's supposed to be a 100 next Tuesday!

I've never tried that sesoning either, I have to get it. This looks delicious.

Michelle @ Find Your Balance said...

Good call, who wants to cook when it's so hot?? Well, it's freezing where I am...want to trade?

I've been making lots of dressings using tahini, lime juice, mustard and honey. mmmm good

Julia said...

I am ALL over this one. We go to TJ's all the time and I am going to get the spice! I've been craving some kind of mac chicken saladie thing and this looks perfecto!

And I can NOT believe that YOU let a little heat get in the way of your cooking. ;)

The Rambler said...

Stopping by from Kathy B's place.

Great recipe!!! I think even I could make this one. It looks fantastic!

Heather S-G said...

Delicious!! I'm sweating as I sit here, thinking I need to go turn on the air. Wish I had some mac salad, too!

teresa said...

Mmmm, I love a macaroni salad, adn yours looks so bright and healthy! I'm going to have to check out that spice!

BonBon Rose Girls Kristin said...

Mmmmmmmmmm. Such a perfect summer dish!

AiringMyLaundry said...

My husband would love that!

Anonymous said...

Looks easy to make and delicious!

Katy ~ said...

Macaroni salad is satisfying in summer days.

Trader Joe's is a couple of hours away for us, but it sounds as if it would be worth the trip!

Rhiannon Bosse said...

I am still drooling over this....Kim come make it for meeeee!! :)

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