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

Panzanella and Sausage Salad

adapted from Rachael Ray's Everyday magazine

I love panzanella salad.  It's carbs and veggies and cheese and full of flavor.  So when I came across this recipe I knew I had to make it.  So I did, last night for dinner.  Bonus, this meal boasts at being $10 (or less) total!

Ingredients:
Four 3/4" thick slices of italian bread
1/4 c EVOO
2 plum/roma tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
salt and pepper
2 tbs red wine vinegar
1/4 c grated parmesan cheese
5 fresh basil leaves, cut into ribbons
4 italian sausage links (about 1 lb)

Instructions:

1. Preheat a grill to medium.  Brush the bread slices with 2 tbs EVOO.  In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, onion and garlic; season with 1/2 tsp salt and pepper.  Let stand for 15 minutes.  Add the vinegar and remaining 2 tbs EVOO.
2. Meanwhile, arrange the bread on the grill and toast on one side, about 2 minutes.  Flip and top with half of the cheese; cover and grill for 2 minutes.  Let cool slightly, then cut into cubes and add to the tomato mixture.  Stir in the basil.
3. Pierce the sausage with a fork, arrange on the grill, cover and cook, turning once, until cooked through, about 10 minutes.  Thickly slice the sausage and add to the bread salad.  Divide among 4 plants and top with the remaining cheese.

Adjustments/Recommendations:

• I used tomatoes and basil from mom's garden, onion from mom's house, and left over garlic bread from catering.  The only thing I had to purchase was the sausage.
• Being as I used left over bread that was already cooked/grilled, I made croutons for the salad.
• Instead of salt and pepper, I sprinkled with Santa Maria seasoning.
• I topped each plate with a little shredded parm, not grated.  Only because 1) I like shredded better, and 2) I didn't read the word grated on the recipe at first.  Oops.
• To make this salad a little healthier, I used hot italian turkey sausage.  It was good, and a lot less fat.  Oh, and I didn't grill it, I cooked them on the stove top.
• Next time, I think I won't "finely chop" the tomato and onion though.  It was hard to stab little pieces of veggies.

PW's Katie's Roasted Corn Salad

(Sorry for the blurriness, I was in a hurry.)

 Tis the season of endless vegetables and lots of grilling.  So why not combine the two?  The Pioneer Woman has a wonderful cookbook out full of yummy recipes, beautiful pictures, and lots of stories.  On of her recipes is for a Roasted Corn Salad.  Soooooo GOOD!

Makes 6 cups (but I ended up with closer to 10!)
Ingredients:
Vegetables:
Olive Oil
8 fresh corn ears
1 red onion, quartered
2 yellow squash, halved lengthwise
1 red bell pepper
2 medium tomatoes
Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
12 basil leaves, cut into chiffonade
1 tsp kosher salt
2 garlic cloves, chopped

Instructions:

1. Preheat outdoor grill, or grill pan.  Drizzle grill with olive oil.  Place the corn on the grill and liberally drizzle with olive oil.
2. Grill for 5-8 minutes, until the corn is beginning to brown.
3. Drizzle the onion with olive oil and grill just until it starts to become tender.  Do not overcook, as you'll want the onion to remain somewhat firm.
4. Repeat with halved summer squash and red bell pepper.  Allow vegetables to cool slightly after grilling.
5. Roughly chop the onion, squash, and pepper.  With a sharp knife, scrape the corn kernels from the cob.  Dice the tomatoes and add them to the mix.
6. To make the dressing, in a separate bowl, pour the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and whisk together until combined.
7. Finally, add the basil, salt, and garlic and whisk together.
8. Place the vegetables in a large mixing bowl and pour the dressing over the top.  Stir to combine.
9. Serve as salad, with tortilla chips or crackers, or spoon on top of grilled chicken.

Variations:

• I pam-ed the outdoor grill instead of drizzling with OO.
• For the dressing, I used 1/3 cup OO instead of 1/2 cup (slightly healthier, right?)
• I prepared the salad the night before.  Kept the dressing separate, but excluded the basil until right before serving.

Summer Corn Salad

I made this salad for 4th of July.  Corn = a summer staple.  But I don't like eating corn off the cob, so this recipe was perfect!

Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Servings: ~10
WW:  2 pts/serving

Ingredients:
6 ears corn, husked and cleaned
3 large tomatoes, diced (I used romas)
1 large onion, diced  (I used red)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbs white vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted (optional) water to a boil.  Add corn and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or until desired tenderness.  Drain, cool, and cut kernels off the cob with a sharp knife.
2. In a large bowl, toss together the corn, tomatoes, onion, basil, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Chill until serving.

So good.  So refreshing.  Perfect summer side dish!

Jello Salad

You can't go wrong with a jello salad, right? Simple. Sweet. Good.
Ingredients:
1 pint cottage cheese
1 tub thawed cool whip
1 box jello
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
1 can crushed pineapple, drained
or any fruit (canned or fresh) of your choice

Instructions:
Mix together. Chill.
How simple was that?!?

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

Roasted Potato, Garlic, and Red Pepper Salad

I have a friend that is not a fan of creamy, white foods. Like mayo. Yuck! So I made it my personal mission to find a recipe for potato salad that is not mayo or sour cream based. And I found it! And I made it for my little Memorial BBQ. And it was good!

Cast of Characters...
Mid-roast...

Ingredients:
6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
3 pounds small boiling potatoes (white, red, or fingerling)
2 red bell peppers
3 1/2 tablespoons EVOO
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup small fresh basil leaves
optional: olives, pine nuts, goat cheese, grilled chicken, tuna, or prosciutto

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. Wrap garlic cloves together in foil. Halve potatoes and cut bell peppers into 1/2" pieces. In a large bowl toss potatoes, bell peppers, and 3 tablespoons oil with salt and pepper to taste. Arrange potatoes and bell peppers in one layer in 2 large shallow baking pans and roast in middle and lower thirds of oven (simultaneously, roast wrapped garlic on either rack), stirring occasionally and switching positions of pans halfway through roasting time, until potatoes are tender and golden brown, about 35 minutes.
3. In a bowl immediately toss potatoes and peppers with 2 tablespoons vinegar and cool. Remove garlic from foil and squeeze pulp into a small bowl. With a fork mash garlic with remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil and tablespoon vinegar and toss together with potatoes and peppers, salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving, add basil. Serve potato salad at room temperature.

Gourmet
July 1997

And I suck and once again did not get a picture of the finished product. But trust me, it was pretty. Pretty good!

Spinach Salad

The simplest, bestest Spinach Salad eva'! My roommate during college used to make this often and it's all we would eat for dinner. It's extremely filling and full of flavor.


Ingredients:
Spinach
Bacon Bits (real or fake)
Hard Boiled Egg, sliced
Red Onion, thin slices
Balsamic Dressing

Instructions:
For the dressing, take a dry Italian packet and use balsamic for the vinegar.

You can layer the salad, or just dump the spinach in a bowl and sprinkle with the rest of the ingredients. I prefer the layer method, that way the goodies are throughout. The quantity of ingredients is all up to you.

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.