Greek Pasta Salad with Grilled Chicken

16 oz Orecchiette pasta cooked al dente
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped
1 small English cucumber, cut into half moons
1 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 cup Greek olives, cut in half
15.5 oz can chickpeas (Garbanzo beans), drained
2 cups (about 2 large handfuls) of greens, such as chopped romaine lettuce or spinach or a combination of both
8 oz. Feta cheese, crumbled

Greek-Style Dressing
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
1 glove garlic, pressed through garlic press or finely shopped
1 tsp. dried oregano (crumbled)
1 tsp salt
1/2-1 tsp freshly ground pepper

Mix well or shake in a jar to combine

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, marinaded in Italian or Greek Dressing (make another batch of the dressing listed above for this) for at least 4-6 hours, but not more than 24 hours

Directions
Right after cooking the pasta, rinse pasta with cold water to stop it from cooking. Drain well and place in a very large serving bowl (this recipe will feed about 8 people) add the olive oil to keep the pasta from sticking together. Refrigerate pasta to cool it completely.

Stir the next 9 ingredients into the pasta, mixing well. These amounts are very forgiving, so it's fine if the amounts are more or less than listed above.

Add the Greek-style dressing to the pasta salad and you can either refrigerate until ready to serve or proceed to grill the chicken,

Pound raw chicken until about 1 inch thick. Grill chicken on high about 10 minutes or until juices run clear, discarding the marinade.

Cut chicken into strips or cubes. Add chicken to the pasta salad or you can serve it on the side and let each person add the chicken to their own salad. You can also add the chicken to the salad and refrigerate until ready to serve if you prefer your chicken cold rather than warm.

Serve pasta salad as a main dish or it can be a side dish. This will feed 8 people a main course or 12-15 people as a side dish. If you want to make it for a main course, you can complete the meal with a fruit salad and a tall glass of iced tea or lemonade.

This salad makes great leftovers too!

Enjoy!