Olive-Garlic Chicken and Pasta

12oz. dry pasta - cook al dente'

1# chicken breast strips

2T vinegar and oil salad dressing

¾c sliced kalamata olives

8 lg. stuffed green olives - sliced

1½ med. onion - chopped

½ med. orange pepper - sliced

2c sliced celery + tops

lots of minced garlic (9-12 cloves)

4oz. red roasted pepper in a jar - chopped

Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and sauté and stir in the dressing for 10 minutes.  Add olives and a little of the onion and continue to sauté and stir another few minutes.  Add the celery, orange pepper, rest of the onion, cover and simmer a little longer.  Stir in the garlic, red pepper, salt and pepper.  Stir and cook until the celery is crisp tender.

In a 3-4 quart baking pan, combine all the ingredients, add more dressing if needed, cover and bake at 325° for about 15 minutes just to finish the cooking and heat everything through.   This is more like a hot pasta salad, than a traditional hot Italian pasta dish, since I used dressing in place of the usual Alfredo or red sauce.

Try it - See what you think! . .Lin