Chipotle Pasta and Quinoa Salad

While Soux Chef Gerrard Jr. was checking our expenses and cleaning the kitchen,

Checking our grocery receipt for errors

Cleaning the kitchen

I was making chipotle pasta and quinoa salad with bacon and turkey!

I actually took pictures during the process this time, so you get to see the recipe in photo form!

Cooked shell pasta, red quinoa, and shredded carrots tossed in my biggest bowl

Add finely chopped tomato, celery, and snap peas for crunch

Then add bell pepper (I used red, yellow, and green, but you could use any variety) and finely chopped onion. You don't want a big chunk of raw onion in your bite.

I tossed in a handful of shredded mozzarella and a handful of shredded cheddar cheese, and a palmful of parmesan

Here's a big pile of chopped turkey and three slices of bacon, because everything is better with bacon. Tossed this into the bowl, too.

Time to make the sauce/dressing. Lots of mayo, some BBQ sauce, yellow mustard, Sriracha sauce, garlic powder and chili powder.  I added a couple table spoons of water, a dash of salt, and more Sriracha after this picture.

Mix in the dressing slowly, because you might have accidentally made more than you need... Luckily, chipotle mayo is delicious on everything, including turkey sandwiches, which might be my lunch today...

And there you have a protein-rich, vitamin-packed, tasty pasta dish that (in my opinion) works well for a side dish or a main course. Enjoy!