Chicken Noodle Salad

First, I must apologize for the odd looking noodles. It was completely overcast and even rained a bit as I was taking photos! I'll take lousy light if it means I get a slightly cooler (91 degree) day and a few sprinkles!

This is one of the happiest 'throw together' meals I've ever made!

Last summer, we were running low on food (I hate strongly dislike grocery shopping), and rather than go to the store, I searched for whatever I could find that might masquerade as dinner without requiring me to really cook.

Here's what I came up with:

Chicken Noodle Salad

2 c. cooked, cubed chicken breast
1 lb. pasta, cooked and drained
2 apples, diced fine (I use gala and granny)
2 stalks celery, diced fine
a couple of handfuls of sunflower seeds
a couple of large handfuls of shredded cheese

dressing
1 c. mayo
2 T. acid (red wine vinegar is our favorite, but lemon juice works too)
large pinch kosher salt
lots-a fresh ground black pepper

Mix dressing in a small bowl then add to other ingredients; mix well. Chill at least two hours before serving.

That's it--a complete meal. You get meat, pasta, fruits and veggies all wrapped up in a happy mayo blanket!

I keep cooked, diced chicken breast in 2 c. portions in the freezer, so outside of boiling noodles for five or six minutes, this is a cooking-free meal which, when it's climbing towards 110 outdoors, is a very good thing.