We doubled tripled the recipe to account for the unknown. Andrea’s Gma is one popular lady so house guests are always dropping by and we wanted to be prepared 
Before making the main dish, we assembled a gargantuan spinach salad which included chopped pecans, ground peppa, craisins, and red onions. Dressing du jour was a light raspberry vinaigrette or a sun-dried tomato vinaigrette. I tried both and they were equally lovely.
Spinach salad
Here are the deets on the recipe:
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed of fat
- 8 ounces whole-wheat fusilli or radiatore
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Preparation
- Place chicken in a skillet or saucepan and add enough water to cover; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer gently until cooked through and no longer pink in the middle, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board to cool. Shred into bite-size strips.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta until just tender, about 9 minutes or according to package directions. Drain. Place in a large bowl.
- Meanwhile, place oil and shallot in a small skillet and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and just beginning to brown, 2 to 5 minutes. Add broth, feta and lime juice and cook, stirring occasionally, until the feta begins to melt, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the chicken to the bowl with the pasta. Add the dressing, blueberries, thyme, lime zest and salt and toss until combined.
Nutrition
Per serving: 315 calories; 11 g fat (3 g sat, 6 g mono); 49 mg cholesterol; 33 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 23 g protein; 5 g fiber; 238 mg sodium; 207 mg potassium.
Reminder: we tripled the recipe!
Chicken, pasta, blueberries, and feta -- oh my!
Some changes we introduced real-time. Addition of extra chicken broth (about 2/3 cup); nixed the lime zest (already incredibly lime-y), added another 1/2 cup of crumbled feta in the dressing.
What I thought? I loved the tanginess of the feta-thyme dressing combined with the blueberries and chicken. It felt so fresh and summery, and diverse! This pasta can be served room-temp, warm, or cold and all taste pretty great. I’m always a little weary of pasta salads being the ‘main’ dish, but with a some beginning apps and a nice salad on the side, you will surely be full. The only thing I didn’t like was that the chicken tasted very chicken-y. Meaning, it did not soak up the dressing at all. I was disappointed by this for certain since I prefer to have all tastes thoroughly muddled together. While eating I happened to mix the pasta with my spinach salad and thought it was fantastic!
A blurry bevy of food
My suggested revisions:
- 1.5 or 2 x’s the dressing recipe, keeping pasta amount constant
- Use red-onions instead of shallots for more of a flavor punch
- Use fresh lime juice (squeezed from limes) rather than concentrate if you want to have the lemon zest
- Add about 1/2 cup of pine nuts for some crunch
- Most importantly: Make your chicken and dressing 1 day ahead of time. COMBINE chicken and dressing to let the chicken soak up the dressing flavors. When you are ready to serve, add 1/2 cup chicken broth to loosen up (wet) the dish a bit. Pour over pasta, add blueberries, and pinenuts, and ta-da, even better dinner!
Oh and here are some apps that we put out in advance — thank you TJs for the Roasted Red Pepper Egglplant spread, the Green Olive Tapenade, the Olive Loaf, and the Flaxseed Chabatta!
Apps
We also had this fabulous uber-dry champagne 
Can't go wrong with a lil' Moet
What’s your favorite recipe that has both fruit and meat?
