Ladies Lunch Bow Tie Pasta Spinach Salad

Ladies Lunch Bow Tie Pasta Spinach Salad

Setting the table

Going with a turquoise and Lime green theme I used lime green napkin rings and woven placemats that I bought on serious clearance at pier 1 imports.

99 cents each…for each thing…oh yeah SCORE! Here are some similar napkin rings. 

I just love the look of turquoise and lime green together.

It feels Beachy and fresh and clean. You may remember this fun beachy tablescape that I did in my dining room awhile ago. I brought in a little turquoise to it but I mixed it with silky brown. Wait until you see the fun sea shell chocolates I used in a glass apothecary jar! 

The floral napkins that I used in this ladies lunch have multiple colors in them which work perfectly with my bold color scheme.

I used these same napkins here in this tablescape.

I usually try to bring in some texture to my tablescapes like I did for this romantic outdoor dinner for two in our backyard. 

I love entertaining at home in the backyard is my all time favorite place! 

Setting the table in a fun way just adds to the meal. I really enjoy creating a pretty table to enjoy your meal.  You can see many more of my tablescapes here

Making the ladies lunch bow tie pasta spinach salad

This is the best tip- Grilling ahead of time! I grilled these chicken breasts this morning…with snow still on the ground….but the sun was shinning and it was beautiful outside.

I love to get a head start on my lunch by taking advantage of grilling early in the morning.

Here is my video and recipe on how to grill chicken.

After the chicken is grilled and cooled. I sliced the chicken on an angle and then into thirds for nice even pieces.

At this point I get a pot of boiling water going to cook the bow tie pasta. Once the water is boiling, I add in some salt and pour in the bow tie pasta.

I cook it for about 10 min or until it is al dente (cooked so as to be still firm when bitten) no one likes mushy pasta.

I learned a lot about cooking pasta when we traveled to Italy and had a pasta making class. It was a dream come true and just plain AWESOME! 

For the greens I used fresh baby spinach leaves because have a little sweeter flavor. I really like to use that in my Bow tie spinach salad.

I add in chopped cashews, mandarin orange slices, toasted sesame seeds and the cooled bow tie pasta…yummers!!

The dressing is what makes the salad! It is oil, vinegar, teriyaki sauce but I have used soy sauce too, white wine vinegar, salt, pepper and sugar. You can play around with the ratios to get it just the way you like it.

I like it a little sweeter. 

This Bow tie pasta salad with grilled chicken is the perfect meal for a lunch! Feel free to use different nuts, maybe throw in some celery for a nice crunch. Even try different greens it is really flexible. 

Tip- Make the the day before because the flavors get even better! 

You could serve this with some yummy homemade orange rolls. 

It was so nice to visit with my gal pals and just chat…I need to do this more often.

Sometimes I feel like I live in the cyber world too much these days.

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