Crazy Caesar's Salad

Submitted by Misa

"Salad with an identity crisis - part pasta salad, part dinner salad. I tweaked a recipe I found over at allrecipes.com (Chicken Caesar Pasta, posted bsteimle) - streamlined it for harried nights I just don't feel like standing over the stove, and added in more veggies. Some of the vegetable amounts will be approximates, as I just usually eyeball what I throw in. You can add more or less, as you please."

 

• Ready In: 20mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 16 ounces uncooked rotini pasta (any kind of corkscrew pasta is fine)
• 1 (6 ounce) package mixed salad greens (please see note at the end of the recipe)
• 2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
• 1 (8 ounce) bottle caesar salad dressing
• 1⁄4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1⁄2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• 1 cucumber, chopped
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1 (2 ounce) can sliced ripe olives, drained

directions

1. Start off by getting a large mixing bowl. In the bowl, mix together the Caesar dressing and red wine vinegar. Once that's well combined, stir in the Parmesan cheese. Place the bowl in the refrigerator until needed later.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil pasta until al dente, usually 8-10 minutes. (Check your pasta package for recommended times.).
3. Carefully drain off the pasta in a strainer or colander. Run the pasta under cold water to cool off the pasta. Drain well.
4. Remove the mixing bowl from the refrigerator. Add in the pasta and the remaining ingredients. Stir thoroughly. Keep any leftovers in the refrigerator in a covered bowl.
5. Notes about the lettuce - the bags of salad mix vary widely in weight, depending on the type of lettuce/greens in the mix, usually 5-10 oz per bag. Regardless of the weight, they usually contain in volume roughly 6 cups of greens. Feel free to sub this amount of your preferred lettuce type.
6. ***If you are making this batch ahead or going to eat over a course of a few days and don't want the lettuce to get wilty, you can leave the lettuce out of the mixture, and serve the mixed salad over lettuce greens when you are ready to eat. I've made this up a couple of times to take to work for lunch; I just put my lettuce in the salad container and scoop the pasta mixture on top.