Chicken Bacon Pasta With Avocado Sauce

The heat of a summer day does nothing to make me want to cook. Going from the heat outside to the heat of a kitchen is not how I want to spend my time. So, during the summer, there is nothing better than a cool pasta salad for lunch. Well, maybe a cold beer is better, but I need to eat too.

I know there are lots of people out there screaming at me eating pasta while they are on their low-carb or no-carb diets. All I have to say, is that carbs in moderation are not the enemy. Plus, my pasta is homemade so I feel like it is healthier than store bought. It might not be, but I definitely feel like it is.

This dish can be made ahead of time during Sunday meal planning and prep. (I’m not sure of the shelf life because we don’t have food around long enough for it to go bad.) One of the perks of this dish is how well it keeps.

Also, if you are a family on the go, like us, this is an easy dish to grab out of the refrigerator and dig into. We have had a busy summer with soccer and gymnastics so we are in need of something quick on nights both sports have practice. I'm also thinking we are going to take it with us on our picnic this week because it is not a messy dish to transport.

Chicken Bacon Pasta

2 cooked chicken breast, cubed

4 strips chopped bacon

4 cups cooked pasta

2 avocados

½ cup mayo

4 hard boiled eggs

2 tbsp dill

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

4 Scallions

2 cloves garlic

½ cup tomatoes

1 tsp salt

In a skillet, brown the bacon to preferred crispiness. I like mine a bit extra crispy because it will soften a bit with the sauce and it helps to add a different texture to the dish. Once done, set aside to cool. Do not drain out the bacon grease. Instead, pan fry the cubed chicken in the bacon grease. It’ll give the chicken a nice crispy edge. Allow the meats to cool while making the avocado dressing. In a food processor, add one avocado, 4 cooked egg yolks, ½ cup mayo, 2 tbsp dill, 2 cloves garlic, lemon juice (prevents the avocados from turning brown if making ahead of time) and 1 tsp salt. Blended until smooth. Dice the other avocado, egg whites, and scallions. Half or quarter the cherry tomatoes. Chop the cooled bacon. With all ingredients complete, simply toss it in a large bowl and mix it up.

Now, we did do a little variation to this recipe because my husband absolutely hates dill (I love it). For his bowl of food, we used cilantro. I was worried it would end up tasting too much like guacamole, but it didn't. It was really good! I'm also not the biggest tomato fan, so I tried sun-dried tomatoes when I made this a second time. The sun-dried tomatoes added a bit of a sweetness to the dish.

Every time I do a write up of a recipe or activity, I feel like I am searching for what to say to make it longer! There is only so much I can do to promote the thoughts, so I am thinking of doing videos. What do you think?