Chicken Satay Pasta Salad

When I went to LaShaune's Pampered Chef party just over a week ago, I had the pleasure of feasting on Chicken Satay Pasta Salad.  Apparently LaShaune had eaten it a time or two before at previous Pampered Chef parties and had requested it to be made at her party.  I'm thankful.  It's delicious.  I took the recipe and tweaked it slightly to make it a bit more South Beach friendly.  Here's the recipe as I made it:

8 oz. uncooked whole wheat pasta (I used penne)
3 cups of cooked diced chicken (approx. 1 lb)
3/4 cup of Newman's Own Low Fat Sesame Ginger salad dressing
2 TBSP whipped Peter Pan Peanut Butter
1/2 package of broccoli slaw
green onion
1 diced red pepper
1/2 bag of sugar snap peas
1/2 cup of sliced almonds
chopped up fresh basil
the juice of one lime
grated ginger

Cook the pasta in water with some salt.  While I had the pasta cooking, I also boiled the chicken and then I began mixing my remaining ingredients.  I took a large bowl and poured the measured 3/4 cup of the salad dressing into it.  I did read all of the low fat/lite Asian salad dressings to try to find the best option as far as lower sugar / lower carbs / lower fat / lower calories went and Newman's seemed to be the best option.  The original recipe called for 1 cup, but I was trying to use less - keeping in mind I could always add more if it was necessary.  I then added the peanut butter by whisking it into the salad dressing.  Next I squeezed the lime into the mix and grated a chunk of peeled ginger and then whisked away.  The original recipe called for carrots, but South Beach kinda frowns down upon carrots because of the sugar content, so I opted to go for the broccoli slaw mix which has a bit of shredded carrot in it plus shredded cabbage and shredded broccoli stems.  I then added the pepper, green onion, and peas.  I should have then added my fresh basil, but when I started chopping it up I thought it smelled an awful lot like mint, so I looked again at the packaging and realized I accidentally picked up mint instead of basil.  Ooops!  I pulled a "Kim" yet again.  No basil in my dinner this time.  Once my pasta was cooked, I rinsed it and let it cool.  Once my chicken was cooked, I diced it up and let it cool.  I then added both to my big bowl and mixed it thoroughly and served it to myself.

This is soooo flavorful and so yummy!  It's great for lunch and dinner and it makes great leftovers - in fact the flavors have time to infuse and it might even taste better the next day!  Enjoy!