Strawberry- Caesar grilled chicken and vegetable salad

[nverland]

Strawberry- Caesar grilled chicken and vegetable salad

Ingredients:
MARINADE AND DRESSING:
1 ½ cups Newman’s Own® Caesar Dressing (or any bottled Caesar dressing)
1 ½ cups chopped fresh strawberries
2 tablespoons strawberry jam

SALAD:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 cups dry rotini pasta, cooked according to package instructions
1 medium zucchini, trimmed and sliced horizontally
2 yellow bell peppers, trimmed and cut into large pieces
1 corn on the cob, husked and silk strings removed
3 green onions, chopped
1/3 cup shaved or shredded fresh Parmesan
1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
4 cups chopped romaine lettuce

Directions:
1. Prepare the marinade/dressing and marinate the chicken: Combine the Caesar dressing and strawberries in a blender or food processor. Process until smooth. Place ¾ cup of the strawberry Caesar marinade into a large zip bag with the chicken. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours (or overnight is fine too). Add the jam to the remaining mixture and process again. This will be the strawberry Caesar dressing that you’ll use for the salad. Pour it into another container, then cover and refrigerate until the salad is ready to assemble.

2. Grill the chicken and veggies: Preheat your grill to medium-high heat. Grill chicken on both sides until cooked through. Grill zucchini, bell peppers and corn on the cob on all sides until tender and slightly charred. Remove from the grill to let cool. Chop the chicken, zucchini and bell peppers into chunks. Cut the corn off the cob.

3. Assemble the salad: Place the cooked pasta in a large bowl. Add enough of the strawberry Caesar dressing to coat the pasta (don’t drown it!) Mix in the chicken, grilled veggies, and green onions. Toss and add more dressing, as desired. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve (it’s okay to make this several hours ahead- even overnight).

4. for serving: Stir the Parmesan and strawberries into the pasta salad. Sprinkle the bottom and sides of a large serving bowl with the lettuce. Scrape the pasta salad on top of the lettuce lined bowl, and serve.