Sesame Chicken Pasta Salad #Surprise Recipe Swap

It's time for another recipe from the Surprise Recipe Swap! Each month, I'm assigned a food blogger to try a recipe from. This month, I was assigned Dawn from Spatulas on Parade. Dawn is an empty nester who began food blogging shortly after her youngest left home. And, she's from North Carolina!

Dawn has a ton of great looking recipes to choose from but I had to give this pasta salad a try. Since I am always on the hunt for easy, light, and healthy lunches to take to work, it seemed like the perfect choice. Lots of pasta salads end up heavy or really creamy so this Asian inspired twist was a welcome change. We both loved it! It'd be the perfect addition to a picnic, pot luck, or just a light dinner one day this summer (though we'll probably be taking it for lunch quite a bit in the coming months!).

I made a couple of small tweaks to her recipe - I used whole wheat pasta, threw in some fresh sliced mushrooms I had on hand, and took her advice and doubled the sauce amount (definitely the right choice!). I included those changes below.

If you're interested in joining a recipe swap, go here and check out the details!

Thanks, Dawn, for the great recipe!

Sesame Chicken Pasta Salad

3 cups dry pasta, cooked, drained, and rinsed with cool water

1.5 cups shredded or diced chicken (pick up a rotisserie chicken!)

1 cup thin sliced carrots

2 cups chopped baby bok choy  

1 cup sliced mushrooms

Ginger sauce (recipe below)

Toss all ingredients - including sauce - in a large bowl and mix well.  Chill for a couple of hours before serving. 

Ginger Sauce

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

1/2 cup honey

2 tablespoon oil

4 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

4 teaspoons reduced sodium soy sauce

2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger (a microplane works perfect!)

2 teaspoons sesame oil

Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl before pouring over pasta. 

Source: Spatulas on Parade