Summer Pasta Salad

The perfect addition to a summer bbq or potluck! I love this salad.

12-16 oz pkg colored spiral noodles

1 diced red pepper

1 diced green pepper

1 diced cucumber

sliced olives, I usually do 3/4 of a can
diced mozzarella cheese (optional)

Bernstein's Cheese Fantastico Light Italian Dressing

Boil noodles according to package directions. Do not overboil!  Want them a tad chewy.  Rinse with cold water and drain well. Add in all other ingredients and toss in a large bowl. Dump a bunch of the dressing over the salad, about 3/4 of the bottle. Sprinkle with lots of Parmesan cheese.  Stir and refrigerate. 

Best made the night before or the morning before you plan on serving it.  Very good when all the flavors meld together overnight.  When you take the salad out to serve, freshen it up by shaking in a little more Parmesan cheese and another good amount of salad dressing.  I usually end up using the whole bottle.  You could also use any other Italian dressing your family likes.  

On my Menu

Here are a few recipes that I want to make soon. I love this time of year and eating lighter and using more fruits and veggies!

Chicken Tostadas (this marinade looks delicious!)

 Baked Zucchini with Mozzarella

Fresh Fruit Brushetta with Orange Honey Cream (this will be perfect with all the mangos I am getting in my Bountiful Baskets each Saturday!)

Apple Pie Bars

I found this recipe for apple pie bars last year and wanted to make them. I made them today, but I altered the recipe a bit. Since I have a lot of homemade apple pie filling in quart jars that I canned, I wanted to use that instead of making a fresh filling. Plus I halved the recipe since I didn't want four dozen bars! Please refer to the original recipe if you don't have apple pie filling at home to use and you want to make it from scratch. Here I will type up how I altered the recipe.


Braden and Chad said they both like these better than regular apple pie!

Crust:
3/4 c. butter, softened
6 Tbl. sugar
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt

Topping:
1 1/2 c. quick oats
1 c. all purpose flour
3/4 c. light brown sugar
1/2 tsp plus 1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c. cold butter, cut into small cubes

Prepare the crust: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 13x9.5 jelly roll pan with foil or parchment paper. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about two minutes. At low speed, beat in the flour, spices, and salt until a soft dough forms. Press the dough over the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake in the center of oven for about 15 minutes or until golden and set. Set on wire rack to cool slightly.

Prepare the topping: In a large bowl, mix the oats and the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Using your fingers or a pastry tool, put the butter cubes into the oat mixture and crumble together until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Press the mixture into clumps.

Dump on the quart bottle of your apple pie filling and spread evenly over the crust. Scatter the crumb topping on top, pressing it lightly into the mixture. There will be a lot of topping, don't worry. It will fit. Bake for 30 minutes or until the topping begins to look slightly crispy on top. Let cool and enjoy!

Pistachio Bundt Cake

I made this cake for dessert on St. Patrick's Day. We had invited a new single sister in our ward over for dinner and I wanted a nice dessert, but festive. It was delicious! It was moist enough that it didn't need frosting. I dusted it with powdered sugar like the photo. You might want to read through the reviews as there are good tips for different frosting's, egg substitutes and such.

 

Original recipe found at AllRecipes.com

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 1 (3.4 ounce) package instant pistachio pudding mix
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 7 drops green food coloring (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan.
2. In a large bowl mix together cake mix and pudding mix. Make a well in the center and pour in eggs, water, oil, almond extract and green food coloring. Blend ingredients, then beat for 2 minutes at medium speed.
3. Pour into prepared 10 inch tube pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes, or until cake springs back when lightly pressed. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Asparagus Chicken Fajitas

I made this for dinner tonight and I loved it! The rest of my family prefers regular fajitas but I really liked the addition of asparagus and yellow pepper and corn. It was a fast meal as I already had the chicken marinated and grilled, frozen ready to use. Dinner was on the table in under 30 minutes.

Original recipe found at Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips 3/4 cup fat free Italian-style dressing 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces 1 medium sweet red pepper, julienned

1 medium sweet yellow pepper, julienned 1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn 1/4 cup diced onion 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper 12 (6 inch) flour tortillas, warmed

Directions:

1.	Place chicken in a large resealable plastic bag; add salad dressing. seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 4 hours, turning several times.
2.	Drain and discard marinade. In a large nonstick skillet, saute chicken in oil for 3 minutes. Add the asparagus, peppers, corn and onion. Cook an stir for 7 minutes or until the chicken juices run clear and vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in the lemon juice, garlic salt and pepper. Spoon 1/2 cup on each tortilla; fold in sides.

Oatmeal Pancake Mix

I have been using this mix recipe for months now, and I LOVE IT. My family loves it too. I got the original recipe here, and you can read more about it. I added my changes in red. This mix is so fast to put together. I keep it in this container pictured here in the fridge. I taped the instructions to the lid so we can remember how to mix them up (mostly for Chad and Braden since they don't make them as often as I do.) Try it...you will love it! Also works great for waffles.

*Makes 10 cups of dry mix

3 1/2 cups rolled (quick) oats
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour (you can omit this and use all wheat flour)
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 cup vegetable oil

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a mixer with a paddle (or by hand). With mixer on slow speed (or gently by hand), drizzle the vegetable oil into the bowl slowly while the mixer is running. When all the oil has been added, stop the mixer and squeeze a clump of mix in your hand. If it stays together, it is just right. If it is still crumbly, add another tablespoon of oil at a time until the consistency is correct (I’ve never had to add additional oil). Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks at room temperature or indefinitely in the refrigerator or freezer.

To make the pancakes: whisk together 1 cup of mix, (I like to use 1 1/2 c. mix) 1 cup buttermilk (a combination of half plain yogurt and half milk will also work), and 1 egg. The mixture may seem thin at first but the oats will soak up the milk as it stands while the griddle preheats. Heat a griddle and drop the batter onto it. When the edges look dry and bubbles come to the surface and don’t break, turn the pancake over to finish cooking on the second side. As a sidenote, buttermilk can be frozen indefinitely for future batches of pancakes, so it’s worth keeping it around!

(no need to buy buttermilk...take 1 c. milk, mix in 1 Tbl. vinegar and let sit for at least 5 minutes.)

Country Pasta with Mozzarella

8 oz. uncooked rigatoni (I used penne and it was wonderful)
8 slices bacon, cut in 1 inch pieces (I used real bacon pieces from Costco)
2 c. broccoli flowerets
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
2 c. shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese (I used real Parmesan)
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 c. chopped parsley (I used much less)

Cook rigatoni according to package directions, drain. Meanwhile, in 10 inch skillet, cook bacon over medium high heat until brown. Reduce heat to medium. Add broccoli and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until broccoli is crispy-tender.

Add rigatoni and remaining ingredients, except parsley. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with parsley.

Notes: Since I used bacon pieces I just cooked my pasta, and while it was cooking I steamed my broccoli. When they were both done I added everything together. Really easy and delicious!