Chicken bacon and ranch, what a combo

Last week when I was talking to my sister she said she had come across some recipes that she thought I should try out. One of them was a recipe for Club Pasta Salad from BettyCrocker.com. It called for a box of Suddenly Salad ranch and bacon pasta salad mix. Instead of buying the boxed mix I figured I would try to create my own. So this is the tasty creation I ended up with. (As a side note: I have tried the Suddenly Salad bacon and ranch pasta salad before and this tastes just like it but jazzed up a bit).

And a big thank you goes out to my taste testers, Cassi (my sister) and Heather, who gave this recipe two spoons up. And left me with an empty bowl.


Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
(Source: Amber's Delectable Delights)

Ingredients:
2 cups dry shell pasta
1/4 cup julienne carrots
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 pckt (or 3 tbls) dry ranch dressing mix
4 strips bacon (cooked and crumbled)
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups chicken (cut into bite size pieces; cooked and cooled)

Directions:
1) Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in pasta, wait a few minutes then add in carrots and cook until pasta is al dente. Drain pasta into strainer and rinse with cold water. Shake until well drained. Set aside.
2) In medium sized bowl mix the mayonnaise, ranch dressing mix, bacon and onion powder. Add in the cooled pasta and carrots, chicken and cheese. Mix until everything is covered with mayonnaise mixture. Chill and serve.

*(If you feel that there is not enough mayonnaise to cover all the ingredients just add in a tablespoon or so more until it covers everything well).