Chicken & Pasta Green Salad.

So, as well as writing, I absolutely love to cook. I thought I'd share a recipe for an awesome chicken & pasta green salad that I make often for myself & my husband. I rarely use exact recipes, but this is a fairly measured recipe for my cooking.

2lbs boneless chicken breast
1 head Romaine lettuce
1 can medium or large black olives
2 bell peppers(I usually use green & red)
Broccoli or Alfalfa sprouts(to taste)
1 Small clove of garlic
Cheese of your choice(as much or as little as you want, I usually use pepper jack or sharp cheddar)
Olive oil
Garlic powder
Italian seasoning
Croutons(I usually use garlic butter flavor)
Salt & Pepper
Onion powder
1lb box of garden rotini
Dressing of your choice(I prefer Robusto Italian, my husband likes Balsamic Vinagrette).

Heat olive oil in large skillet(I use enough oil to coat the bottom of the skillet). Chop chicken into medium-sized pieces. Add chicken to olive oil, and season with above spices to your taste. Chop the garlic(grate, dice, whatever- just get small pieces) and add to the oil. Cook chicken until well done(it will be very tender). Drain grease and set aside. While you are cooking the chicken, get the water for the noodles on to boil(I add 1tblspn of olive oil to the water to help prevent the noodles from sticking to the pan or together). Boil according to directions on box, and once noodles are done, drain the water and stick them in the freezer to cool. Tear lettuce into pieces of whatever size you prefer(Do not cut lettuce - it will rust and get nasty). Put lettuce into a large bowl. Dice peppers and add to lettuce. Drain juice from olives- these you can add whole, dice, or cut in half, I prefer them whole. Add cheese, sprouts and croutons, mix well. Add chicken and pasta, mix well again.

This recipe works great as it's own meal or a side dish. Another recipe(though less healthy) that I love with sauteed chicken is:

2lbs boneless chicken breast
Same spices as above
1 garlic clove, diced.
1lb box of garden rotini
Olive oil
Chicken broth(one and a half small cans)
Cream of mushroom or Cream of chicken soup(one small can)
Sautee chicken in olive oil, season to taste. Boil noodles in mixture of one can chicken broth and water(enough to cover the noodles).
When chicken is thoroughly cooked, add about half the other can of chicken broth. Mix in well with the olive oil. Add cream of chicken or mushroom soup to chicken, olive oil and broth mixture. If you want a thinner pasta sauce, omit the cream of chicken/mushroom soup and use the entire second can of chicken broth. This creates an oil-based sauce(which I spice heavily). Once everything is cooked and mixed well together, combine the chicken & sauce combination with the noodles in a large bowl. Serve hot.