Italian Chopped Salad

It's another 2 for Tuesday. This Italian Chopped Salad from Kraft Food and Family and directly following, a delicious Basil Chicken in Coconut-Curry Sauce. I really meant to post on the chicken last night, but then I got sucked into a movie and The Bachelor. Because... you know, it was the most dramatic rose ceremony EVER! Thanks, Chris. How does he keep from laughing when he says that?

I saw this chopped salad recipe while making the meal plan and thought, "Mmmm. Salad. I could use a salad. It's been awhile." I deviated a bit from the recipe. First, green peppers don't really agree with me. I had some great, fresh asparagus left over from our Valentine's Day dinner, so I cut it into 1 inch pieces and cooked it for 5 minutes before running it under cold water for a quick chill.


I cut the recipe in half, since there were only three of us around the table tonight. Here are all of the veggies: torn romaine lettuce, cauliflower florets, chopped tomato, and asparagus.


Now for some cooked rotini pasta. I used the tri-color kind.


And the protein. I couldn't find the Italian cheese crumbles at my local grocery, so I used cheddar and jack crumbles. We just had chicken last night and I was in a hurry, so I chopped some deli ham. Finally, I dumped on about 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan.


Now toss.


Here's how it translated into dinner for me and the kids. Rather than toss the whole salad in Italian dressing, I dished up the individual bowls and then used different dressings. My 4 year old loves Ranch dressing. So it was Ranch for her and the baby and Italian for me. I threw a couple of breadsticks from the freezer into the oven. It was almost like a night out at the Olive Garden...minus the check + tip. You can see the lovely professional picture of this recipe on the magazine in the background. That's what it's supposed to look like.


Good AND easy. I love it!

Italian Chopped Salad from Kraft Food and Family

Prep Time: 10 min Total Time: 10 min Makes: 4 servings, about 3-1/2 cups each

What You Need:

6 cups torn romaine lettuce
1-1/2 cups chopped cooked boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used ham)
1 cup cooked small pasta, such as fusilli or rotini
1 cup cauliflower florets
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup KRAFT Natural Italian* Cheese Crumbles
1/2 cup KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing
1/4 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

Make It:

PLACE 1-1/2 cups of the romaine in each of four salad bowls.

COMBINE chicken, pasta, cauliflower, tomatoes, peppers and cheese crumbles in large bowl. Add dressing; toss lightly. Spoon evenly over romaine.

SPRINKLE with Parmesan cheese.

Calories 320 Total fat 16 g Saturated fat 5 g Cholesterol 60 mg Sodium 870 mg Carbohydrate 19 g Dietary fiber 4 g

WW points per 3-1/2 cup serving: 7

For a printable copy of this recipe, click here!

Now off to watch American Idol from my DVR.