Taco Pasta Salad

Where do you go to find your recipes these days?  Seriously, does anyone use allrecipes.com anymore?  I don't.  My recipes search engine is Pinterest (<-- follow me!).  I am a totaly Pinterest-a-holic!  And I openly, freely admit it.  So when it came to needing to make a side dish to take to a BBQ that's where I went to search.  And I found this Taco Pasta Salad recipe.  Sounded good to me!

Taco Salad Pasta

Ingredients:
1 lb pasta (recommend something smallish)
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (10 oz) pkg frozen corn
2-3 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
8 oz shredded Mexican-blend cheese
1 1/2 cup fresh salsa
1/2 cup sliced black olives
1/2 cup olive oil
3-4 tbs lime juice
1 tbs cumin
1-2 tsp chili powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 avocado, diced (optional)

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta al dente according to package instructions.  Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
2. In a large bowl (or 2 medium bowls), combine the black beans, corn, tomatoes, salsa, olives, and cheese.  Once pasta is cooled, stir in and mix to combine.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, garlic, cumin, and chili powder. Pour over pasta salad and mix well.  Stir in cilantro and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Just before serving, dice the avocado and carefully stir into salad.

Comments:

• For the salsa, I used pico de gallo
• I omitted the avocado, because I didn't have one.
• I used reduced fat cheese. 

Recipe from The Sweet Life

Beecher's 'World's Best' Mac & Cheese - and it is!

While in Seattle last month I made it a point to stop at Beecher's cheese shop...twice.  They make my favorite cheese (bonus they have 2 more new favorite cheeses of mine!), so I was excited to see where it was made and to eat lunch there.  I've had it before, and I'll eat it again, but they make the best mac and cheese EVER!  No joke, you'll never find any better.  Now imagine my shock and excitement, a week after getting back the recipe was in some newspaper insert (think Parade but with recipes).  So, since I know everyone can't go to Seattle and visit their shop I thought I'd share the recipe (but please do find or order their cheese to use!).  Plus, it's up here now so I can't lose it.  :)

Beecher's 'World's Best' Mac & Cheese
If you can't find Beecher's cheese locally, use an aged sharp Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese.  This recipe can be made ahead and frozen - use a freezer-to-oven-safe pan and increase the baking time to 50 minutes.

Ingredients:
Sauce:
2 tbs unsalted butter
3 1/2 tbs all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c whole milk
7 oz Beecher's Flagship cheese, grated (about 1 3/4 c)
1 oz Beecher's Just Jack cheese, grated (about 1/4 c)
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/4 to 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
1/8 tsp garlic powder

Pasta:
6 oz penne pasta (about 3 1/4 c)
1 oz (1/4 c) Beecher's Flagship cheese, grated
1 oz (1/4 c) Beecher's Just Jack cheese, grated
1/4 to 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder

Instructions:

1. To prepare sauce, melt butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat.  Add flour.  Cook, whisking constantly, 2 minutes.
2. Slowly add milk, whisking constantly.  Cook until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat.
3. Add cheese, salt, chili powder, and garlic powder.  Stir until cheese melts, about 3 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350F.
5. To prepare pasta, cook pasta 2 minutes less than package directions. (It will finish cooking in the oven).  Rinse pasta in cold water and drain well.
6. Combine pasta and sauce in a medium bowl; mix thoroughly.  (The mixture will seem soupy, but some of the liquid will be absorbed during baking.)  Transfer to an 8" square baking dish.  Sprinkle top with cheese and chili powder.
7. Bake, uncovered, 20 minutes.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 4
Nutrition per serving: 560 calories, 32g fat, 100mg chol., 27g protein, 42g carbs, 1g fiber, 720mg sodium

Now, go visit Beecher's!  There are also 2 other options for this mac & cheese:  1) order the kit online which includes the cheese, or 2) you can buy it premade online.  Your call.  But it's Sooooo good!  If you are going to order Beecher's cheese to use, get yourself a block of their 4 year aged Flagship and a block of the Smoked Flagship.  Yea, I brought a little of each of those home with me.  :)

Classic Macaroni Salad

What's a BBQ without a pasta or macaroni salad of some sort? A lame one, I know! But to try to "lighten" things up a little I went with a different recipe for a macaroni salad. It was pretty good, maybe a little dry, but good.
Ingredient:
8 oz uncooked macaroni, elbow variety
1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste (for cooking pasta)
1/2 c reduced-calorie mayonnaise
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 c celery, chopped
1/3 c red onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp parsley, fresh, chopped
1/4 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper, freshly ground, or to taste

Instructions:

1. Cook macaroni in salted water according to package directions; drain and transfer to a large bowl.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together mayo, vinegar, mustard, and garlic powder; stir mixture into cooked macaroni. Fold in celery, onion and parsley; season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm or chilled. Yields about 2/3 cup per serving.

Servings: 8
WW points per serving: 3
Prep time: 12 min
Cooking time: 10 min

Weight Watcher's recipe

Meaty Man Pasta

or Pasta alla Marlboro Man (compliments of the Pioneer Woman).

I saw this recipe on Pdub's website and thought, that sounds good and looks easy. And I'll even do her TWO better; I'll use whole wheat pasta and ground turkey. My advice, stick to the normal recipe or really know how to doctor it up.
Ingredients:
2 tbs olive oil
2 lbs ground beef
1/2 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 generous tsp ground thyme
2 14-oz cans whole tomatoes
1/4 c freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 to 2 lbs rigatoni

Instructions:

1. First, heat olive oil in large skillet or pot over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook a couple minutes, until starting to turn translucent. Add garlic and stir, cooking 1 minute, making sure not to brown the garlic.
2. Next, add ground beef and cook until brown. Drain most of the excess fat. Add salt, pepper, and ground thyme. Stir to combine.
3. Now dumb in the canned tomatoes with their juice. Stir, reduce heat to low, and cover pot. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring a couple of times. Uncover the pot and cook an additional 30 minutes.
4. Cook rigatoni according to package directions - don't overcook! Drain and place individual portions into bowls.
5. Stir in 1/4 to 1/2 cup grated parmesan into the sauce. Check and adjust seasonings. Ladle sauce over cooked pasta, sprinkle with more parmesan, and serve.

I'm pretty sure it was the ground turkey that threw things off and not the whole wheat pasta...

Again, I suck at getting a picture of the completed product. Sorry. You'll just have to go visit the Pioneer Woman's page to see her delicious dish.

Penne and Chicken Tenderloins with Spiced Tomato Sauce

One Friday afternoon, (cause that's the new thing, I make dinner for the family Friday nights) I was looking for a recipe to make for dinner. I needed something quick and easy but yummy. So I stumbled upon this recipe. Total time 36 minutes, perfect! First time making it there were a couple boo boos, but it was still good. Second time around it was perfect and delicious! Ask anyone that was at TND this week...

(And of course I don't have a picture of the final product. Why? Cause I'm a slacker liker that.)

Serves 4 (about 1 1/2 cup serving size)

1 teaspoon ground fennel seed
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound chicken breast tenders, cut into (1") pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups canned diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup white wine
8 ounces uncooked penne
1/4 cup (1 oz.) freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl; rub over chicken.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 4 minutes, turning once. Remove from heat; set aside.
3. Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic; saute 30 seconds or until garlic is soft. Add tomatoes and wine, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Add chicken, and simmer 5 minutes.
4. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain. Toss pasta with sauce in a large bowl. Sprinkle with cheese and basil.

Calories 446; Fat 7.2g; Iron 4.2mg; Cholesterol 70mg; Calcium 153mg; Carbohydrates 57.1g; Sodium 774mg; Protein 38.5g; Fiber 6.5g

Cooking Light, April 2006

Tortellini Salad

Around the house, this is known as Aunt Megan's Tortellini Salad. She's the one that used it most often. And she's the one that guarded the recipe like it was her first born child. So...with that, here it is!

Ingredients:
1 pkg (12 oz.) tortellini (cheese is best)
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
1 sweet red bell pepper, cut in strips
3 oz. dry salami, cut in strips
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

Instructions:

1. Cook tortellini, drain, rinse with cold water and drain again. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl mix vinegar, basil, mustard, salt, pepper, and garlic. Using a whisk or fork, gradually beat in oil until well combined.
3. Lightly mix in tortellini, parsley, salami, bell pepper, pine nuts and cheese. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or longer.

FYI... I always end up having a couple "tester" bites before it goes in the fridge.