Fruit and Chicken Pasta Salad

Fruit and Chicken Pasta Salad
1 lb. tri-color rotini noodles
4-6 chicken breasts (baked, diced, and cooled) or the meat from1 rotisserie chicken
1 (20 oz.) cans drained pineapple tidbits (2 if you want)
2 cans sliced water chestnuts
4 cups red grapes, halved (more if you want)
2 cups celery, chopped fine
3 apples, diced (or 4-5)
4-5 green onions, chopped

Dressing:
16 oz. Kraft (or any other brand) coleslaw dressing
2 cups mayonnaise

Boil, drain, rinse noodles. Mix all ingredients together in large bowl. Mix together dressing ingredients and add to other ingredients. Add more mayonnaise if needed. Refrigerate until serving time. This makes a very large salad—it is wonderful for a big group. Leftovers keep well and it also is a good dish to take on a road trip.

Tiffany's Notes: I think this salad is a perfect salad for a main dish--it has pasta, sweet fruit, chicken, and an easy dressing.  This recipe clearly makes a large batch.  You can half the ingredients for a smaller amount (half is still a big salad!).  When salad dressing goes on sale I buy a bottle of coleslaw dressing for the time when I know I'll be craving this salad.

I found this recipe on a friend's recipe blog: breakfast, lunch, & dinner.  I needed a new recipe for a "Summer Salad" themed luncheon for the Relief Society (our church's ladies service group).  It was a big hit.  I've made it several times.  Another time I shared it with a lady who was very ill and home-bound.  She had recently been put on dialysis and was having a hard time figuring out what to eat--I brought this and it was a good match for her restricted diet. 

With the mild winter we're having maybe we should take a break from the soup and make a salad!  :)  Or--just pin this one to make in the summer.

The original salad had a topping of cashews sprinkled on top--I'm sure that would be a tasty addition!