Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad with Grilled Chicken

My notes: This is one of our favorite summer meals. It is very versatile, healthy and flavorful. I often combine elements of this dish with elements of another Cooking Light salad, Summer Vegetable Salad with Grilled Bread. We always grill the vegetables. Not only do we prefer the flavor of grilled vegetables over roasted, but it seems downright silly to turn on the oven when the grill is being heated for the chicken anyway.

Source: Cooking Light, July 1999

Vegetables:
1 1/2 cups (3 x 1/2-inch) julienne-cut yellow squash
1 1/4 cups (3 x 1/2-inch) julienne-cut carrot
1 cup vertically sliced onion
1 cup (3 x 1/2-inch) julienne-cut zucchini
1 cup (3 x 1/2-inch) julienne-cut red bell pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

Chicken:
4 (4-ounce) skinned, boned chicken breast halves
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Cooking spray

Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 garlic clove, crushed

Remaining ingredients:
8 cups cooked ziti (about 6 cups uncooked short tube-shaped pasta)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
16 cherry tomatoes, halved

Preheat oven to 450°.

To prepare vegetables, combine squash and next 5 ingredients (squash through oil) in a roasting pan; toss gently to coat. Bake at 450° for 20 minutes.

To prepare chicken, sprinkle chicken with dried basil and oregano.

Prepare grill.

Place chicken on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; cook chicken 4 minutes on each side or until chicken is done. Cool; cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips.

To prepare vinaigrette, combine vinegar and next 6 ingredients (vinegar through garlic); stir with a whisk.

Combine the roasted vegetables, chicken, vinaigrette, pasta, fresh basil, and tomatoes in a large bowl; toss gently to coat.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 2 cups)

NUTRITION PER SERVINGCALORIES 422(15% from fat); FAT 7.2g (sat 1.2g,mono 4.3g,poly 1.3g); PROTEIN 27.7g; CHOLESTEROL 44mg; CALCIUM 52mg; SODIUM 494mg; FIBER 5.5g; IRON 4.1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 61.1g

Cooking Light, JULY 1999