Thanks to: Busybeelauren.blogspot.com
when i opened the case of dressings, the "Apple Poppyseed" was the one that made Ted the most excited. i decided to pair the apple flavor with chicken, and the method should definitely be slow cooking, to really create a rich, tender piece of chicken.
i placed 3 frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts into the crock pot, along with 3/4 of the bottle of dressing, 1 golden delicious apple (cored), about 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar and 1/2 an onion. i cooked on low for 7 hours. i decided it was done when it looked like this, and the chicken fell apart when i touched it with a fork.
the chicken came out with such a glorious golden color...
i then shredded the chicken, and then tasted it. when i tasted it, it had a very distinct sweet, apple taste. i wanted to create a savory dish, so i decided the best route to take was to pair it with some sort of lemon base.
i placed half a box of rotini pasta into a pot of boiling water, and while it cooked, i browned 5 pieces of turkey bacon cut into small bites.
i then zested two lemons, and then saved the two lemons to use later on...
i toasted about a 1/4 cup of pine nuts in a saute pan to bring out the flavor.
when the pasta was tender, i drained it, reserving about 2 tablespoons of the cooking water in the pot to help bind the sauce. i added about 2-3 tablespoons of good quality olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter. after the pasta is tossed with the oil, toss in the lemon zest and the juice of both of the lemons. add salt and pepper to taste and 1 tablespoon of dried basil. toss in the shredded chicken, turkey bacon and pine nuts.
after everything was tossed together, i decided to kick it up ONE more notch by adding in 1 large spoonful of tomato paste, and 1/4 cup of sour cream. mix everything together well.
to serve, shred fresh parmesean on top.
