Southwestern Chicken Pasta Salad

I realize some of you have probably assumed I've fallen off the face of the earth because my poor blog has been terribly neglected the past few months. After thinking and thinking about things to write, I've decided instead of trying to make my blog a story of my life and thoughts (which aren't very interesting anyways), I might as well make it about one of the hobbies I enjoy most: Cooking!

So from here on out, no longer will this be a diary of my life, but rather a diary of all my favorite recipes. Recipes that I not only love, but that I want you to be able to share with your families as well. If there's one thing that makes me smile, it's knowing I can serve my family a satisfying meal and make someone else's tummy happy =). So for all you who have asked me for recipes in the past, and you're still waiting... wait no longer. Hope you all enjoy and to start off my new blog, here is a great summer recipe that Chris loves. The measurements aren't very precise because I kinda eye ball some of it, but it should be pretty close ;) Enjoy all!

* This recipe courtesy of Southern at Home Living

Southwestern Chicken Pasta Salad:

-8 oz. cooked fiore pasta - cooked, drained and cooled. (You could also use wagon wheels. I like fiore because of the fun honey comb shape, and also the ridges on the outside really help the dressing adhere to the pasta.)
-8 oz. boneless fajita chicken breast roughly chopped (recipe for fajita marinade below)
-4 oz. grape tomatoes (halved)
-1 can golden whole kernal corn (drained)
-1 can seasoned black beans (rinsed)
-4 Tbsp. freshly chopped cilantro

*Put all the ingrediants into a large serving bowl and stir so all ingrediants are evenly mixed.

Dressing:

-1/2 cup canola oil
-1/3 cup pure honey
-1/4 cup fresh lime juice
-2 1/4 tsp. chili powder
-About 1 Tbsp. salt (you may use less depending on how much you like)

*Whisk together oil, honey, lime, chili powder and salt. Drizzle over salad and mix well. Top with reserved fresh cilantro to garnish. Chill and serve cold or serve immediately at room temperature if you just can't wait =) Enjoy!

Fajita Marinade:

-1/4 cup of water
-2 Tbsp. of vinegar
-2 Tbsp. sofrito (I usually find this in the taco or ethnic aisle. It's a Goya product)
-2 tsp. minced garlic
-3 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
-2 tsp. soy sauce
-2 tsp. onion powder
-1 Tbsp. ground cumin
-1 Tbsp. chili powder
-2 Tbsp. liquid smoke (usually in the bbq sauce aisle)
-1 tsp. salt
-1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

*Place chicken in a large ziploc bag and add all the marinade ingrediants to the bag. Place in a glass dish and put it into the fridge to marinate for atleast 8 hours. For even better flavor, I like to mix and make my marinade the night before and that way the chicken has a whole day to tenderize and soak in all those yummy flavors!

*Serves 5-6 as an entree