Curried Chicken Pasta Salad with Mandarin Oranges

This is one of those recipes that brings back a lot of memories for me.  Twelve years ago when I was a few days overdue with my second child (Cami), I had to go into the hospital for a non-stress test to make sure she was still doing okay in there.  When I dropped my oldest child off at a friend's house before I went in, it was right about lunch time and my stomach was growling like only a pregnant belly can.  My friend, Cathleen Ashton, offered me this salad here as a quick lunch before I took off for my test.  I eagerly ate it and thoroughly enjoyed it, and apparently Cami did too, since she somersaulted and karate kicked the monitor off my belly several times during the test.  The technicians laughed after 5 minutes  of what was supposed to be an hour long test, and told me that with a baby moving around that much we didn't have anything to worry about!   She was born a few days later and hasn't stopped zipping around since.  

Now whenever I make this recipe I think back with fondness to the kindness of a friend on a hot summer day and back to my days of having babies.   :)   

The ingredients:

1 package (12-oz.)  pasta

1 cup cooked, chopped chicken

3 stalks celery, chopped

1 cup seedless grapes, sliced

1 can pineapple chunks, drained (reserve juice)

2 cans mandarin oranges, drained

SAUCE:

2/3 cup mayonnaise

~1 cup reserved pineapple juice

1 tsp. curry

1 Tbs. soy sauce

1 Tbs. lemon juice

Cook noodles according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.  Add chopped chicken, pineapple chunks (I chop mine up a bit first), mandarin oranges, chopped celery, and sliced grapes.  

Mix all ingredients together for sauce and pour over the noodle mixture.  Toss well.  Refrigerate for a couple hours before serving if possible.  If you do need to serve this right away, be aware that the liquid will settle down to the bottom, so you will need to stir well before each serving.  Serves 8.  

Enjoy!