Master summer meals with an Apple and Mandarin Macaroni Salad | Food/Recipes

This recipe calls for firing up the grill to cook chicken to juicy perfection, mixing your own homemade macaroni salad and dicing up a beautiful apple, making it an ideal dinner option for summer evenings at home.

Apple and Mandarin Macaroni Salad

• 2 thinly sliced chicken breasts
• 1/2 package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
• 1 lemon, zest only
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 can (10.7 ounces) mandarin oranges, drained, juice reserved
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus additional, to taste, divided
• 20 turns fresh cracked pepper, plus additional, to taste, divided
• water
• 1/2 pound macaroni
• 1 Envy apple, diced

Allow chicken breasts to sit at room temperature 20 minutes.

Mash softened cream cheese, Greek yogurt, chopped shallot, lemon zest, lemon juice, 3 tablespoons reserved mandarin juice, chopped parsley, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Preheat grill or saute pan to high heat. Season chicken breasts with drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper, to taste.

Grill chicken breasts until internal temperature reaches 165 F. If using saute pan, cook 2 minutes on each side then finish in 400 F oven 5-10 minutes. Allow chicken to cool then dice into small chunks.

Bring medium or large pot of salted water to boil. Add macaroni and cook until tender. Drain and pour hot noodles into large mixing bowl.

Gently stir in cream cheese mixture until noodles are well coated. Let cool slightly.

Add diced chicken, apples and mandarin oranges; stir to combine. Serve warm or chill in refrigerator to serve cold.