Epicurean Chicken Pasta Salad

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients:
for the Salad:
10 ounces (actually anywhere between 8-12 ounces) rotini pasta (I found that 3 ounces = 1 cup dry, so I used 4 cups dry)
2-3 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces or shredded (I dropped this to about 1 cup shredded and didn't miss the extra)
1 large sweet-tart apple, cored, diced (Mel prefers Honey Crisp for this salad - I just used a Gala)
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, diced small (about 1 cup)
1 15 ounce can pineapple tidbits, drained very well (I had a 20 ounce can and used about half of it)
1/2 cup red grapes, halved (my grapes were ginormous so I quartered them)
2/3 cup sliced almonds (I think I just used about 1/2 cup I think)

for the Honey Lime Dressing:
1/2 cup light or regular mayonnaise
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup light or regular sour cream
1/8 teaspoon salt
Pinch of black pepper
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 tablespoon poppy seeds

Directions:
In a large pot of lightly salted boiling water, cook the pasta until tender. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain well.  In a large bowl, toss all the salad ingredients together.

In another small or medium bowl, whisk all the dressing ingredients together.

Pour the dressing over the salad and stir gently to mix so that all the ingredients are evenly coated with the
dressing.

Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to an hour (the salad may dry out a bit if refrigerated for much longer - you can make extra dressing or reserve part of the dressing to stir in right before serving).  (I had leftovers for days and I didn't notice any drying effect, so I may make it a few hours in advance without any worries in the future if needed.)  I also felt like it needed just a touch more salt (maybe because I didn't salt my pasta water?) so I sprinkled some on my serving when eating.

Notes:
I saw this salad pop up on Mel's blog recently and thought it looked mighty tasty.  The honey-lime dressing really tickled my fancy.  So I whipped it up to serve as a side for a dinner of Marv 'n' Joes, courtesy of Mom's garden tomatoes.  That's a late-summer meal if I've ever had one!  Also interesting to note: this salad was the cause of Callie's very first documented temper tantrum.  She wanted MORE noodles and wasn't happy when I suggested she eat a bite of grape or chicken before I gave her more.