Grilled Chicken Salad with Lemony Dijon Dressing

Cafeteria food, usually not something to be excited about but PepsiCo has a pretty nice cafeteria, including a great salad bar.  About a year ago I made a commitment to making sure I eat more greens, so, for the past year I have been making myself a salad for lunch every day.  Well, not every day.  Every other Wednesday is Sushi Day and it is a little crazy how much we look forward to that day (really good classics made in front of you).  After a year of eating salad, I have become a little tired of the same salad every day. 

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Man, time can fly sometimes and the past few weeks have been GREAT.  I got to hang out in Cincinnati for a weekend with friends and see the old stomping grounds.  Lots of fun, laughs, coffee,  walks, food, wine, smores  and maybe even a tear or two from me (I blame it on the wine).   Sometimes it can be hard to have your closest friends spread across the country, but when we get together it is that much more fun.  I got to see my two favorite dogs in Cinci, Hank & Lucy who gave me lots of doggy kisses.   

Creamy Chicken and Spinach Pasta

Nothing cheers me up more than being curled up on the couch while HUGE snowflakes fall outside the window on a Sunday afternoon while doing a little work.  Each January at PepsiCo, the insights teams are working to analyze what happened the prior year…the good, the bad, and the ugly to inform future strategy.  This usually entails a few later night work days.  Since cooking is a release for me after a long day, I try and have quick options on hand that I can throw together....something ‘Real Simple.’  That is exactly where I found this recipe, in Real Simple, one of my favorite magazines.   I tend to find a good amount of recipes in there that include rotisserie chicken as an ingredient to make cooking times quicker.  If you plan correctly over the weekend, you can have rotisserie chicken with some greens as a side and then use the leftovers the next night in a dish like this…two dinners in one!  I definitely recommend to use gemelli…it is a nice change from the basic penne.  Enjoy!