My version of Insalata Florentine

A few weeks ago, Jason's step mom and her two crazy friends came to Nashville for a visit. Let me just say that these ladies meant business......drinking, shopping, drinking, eating, drinking, flirting with men half their age (not Jason's step mom of course, just her friends), oh and more drinking.

On their way up to Nashville, they needed to stop and get a drink....I mean some lunch. They stopped and Macaroni Grill, a place we haven't been in years. They brought back their leftovers for us and I sampled a wonderful chicken/pasta/salad dish. It was really an odd combination of flavors and textures. I easily found the recipe online. The tricky part was figuring out how to make this "Jason friendly."


I left out most of the good stuff like olives and capers and kept the dish pretty simple. It is really good though and pretty easy, so I think this one might be going in our summer rotation. See what you think and know that this is one of those dishes that you could add almost anything to and it would be delicious (i.e. roasted red peppers, olives, capers, nuts, shavings of Parmesan, etc).


Kyle's Insalata Florentine

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Orzo pasta, cooked according to package directions

1 roasted chicken from Krogers, cut up into chunks

1/2 bag of Italian Mix bag salad (this mix has mostly radicchio, romaine)

1/2 cup - 3/4 cup of vinaigrette dressing -- use whatever you have on hand. I used O'Charley's Balsamic Vinaigrette and it was awesome!!!

Salt & Pepper

Directions:

1. Cook Orzo pasta (8-10 minutes in boiling water, stirring occasionally)

2. Cut up chicken into bite size pieces

3. Layer chicken and greens in a large bowl

4. Drain pasta and pour hot pasta over chicken and greens

5. Pour dressing over everything and toss well

6. Let chill in the fridge for at least an hour before serving. This is the type of dish though that tastes better the next day.