Low-Spoons Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta Salad

no-more-ramen:

No slicing, no dicing, just a little stirring and some pasta-boiling for this huge multi-serving recipe. Best served cold, so a great meal for when you don’t have the time or energy to reheat your food. Keeps in the fridge for about 2 weeks .

Equipment needed:

• Large pot to boil your pasta (be sure the recommended water amount for your pasta only fills the pot about halfway, no one likes dealing with pasta water boiling over)
• Strainer or colander to drain your pasta
• Large bowl or large resealable container to mix all the goodies together in

Ingredients needed: 

• Pre-cooked Chicken pieces or shredded chicken (you can find these at Costco or other stores in the deli-section, be sure to get unseasoned or lightly seasoned only)
• 1 small bag frozen deshelled soy beans
• 1 small bag frozen diced onion or pre-diced onion from the produce section (I prefer yellow onions, but white or red work just fine)
• 1 small can chopped, slivered, or sliced water chestnuts, drained (OPTIONAL)
• 1 cup sour cream, plain yogurt, or mayonnaise (choose your favorite creamy flavor)
• 1 standard bag or box of penne, macaroni, rotini, bowties, or whatever your favorite small chunky pasta is
• ¼ lemon juice (in a pinch, a tablespoon of powdered instant lemonade dissolved in a ¼ cup of water will get the job done just fine)
• Salt, black pepper, and garlic powder to taste (feel free to replace the salt and garlic powder with garlic salt if that is what you have)
• A bunch of salt (kosher salt works awesome, so does iodized table salt if it is all you have)

Instructions:

1. Fill your pot with enough water to boil your package of pasta. Most pasta has cooking instructions on it, so just check there. Usually for a whole package of penne, the suggested water amount will be 4 quarts. If you can’t find the suggested amount on your package, just try 4 quarts.
2. Salt that water. Using your “A bunch of salt”, start stirring in a bunch of salt into that water. Pasta is harder to season after cooking, so seasoning during cooking solves the problem. The goal is to get that water tasting as salty as the sea (feel free to ease off on the salt or omit it here if you are sodium sensitive).
3. Once your water is good and salty, put the pot on your stove or hot plate and crank the heat up to get it boiling! Once your water is bubbling away nicely, toss your pasta right in and give it a stir or two and wait the length of time suggested on the package (if no time is listed, give it 10 minutes then check to see if it is done enough to your liking).
4. In your big bowl or resealable container, dump in your pre-cooked chicken, frozen onion, frozen soy beans, and water chestnuts if you are using them. Add in your lemon juice and stir once or twice to coat your veggies and meat in lemony goodness.
5. Once your pasta is done to your liking, drain your pasta of pasta liquid. If your can, rinse the the pasta in cold water using the strainer or colander you used to drain it. If you can not, simply let the pasta cool for a little bit.
6. Dump your pasta into your container of veggies and meat. Spoon in your choice of creamy ingredient. Now give that container a few good stirs to coat everything in lemon and creamy and yum. 
7. Now is the time to season to taste. You know what you like best, so don’t let my suggestion of just salt/pepper/garlic stop you. Add the flavors you like, stir it up, and see how it goes.
8. It’s ready! Serve yourself some now, or seal it up in the fridge for later!

Feel free to swap the pasta for a gluten free version.
This tastes just as good with a vegan mayo and chopped tofu, tempeh, or seitan
Make any change to the recipe you want, you should never feel like you need to be tied down to a recipe to make good food. Recipes should often times be treated as inspiration rather than rules.