Week 66: Italian Tortellini Pasta Salad

This was a tasty, refreshing, and EASY pasta salad. Another one that would be good for picnics or barbeques because it doesn't have a mayo base. This could also be made with pasta, but I'm not sure I'd want to give up that yummy tortellini!

Year of Yum Rating: 4 1/2 STARS

INGREDIENTS
1 package refrigerated cheese tortellini
2 packages frozen chopped spinach
1 can black olives, sliced
1 package turkey pepperoni, slices quartered
4 cups grape tomatoes, halved
parmesan cheese
1 bottle Italian dressing

DIRECTIONS
Cook the tortellini according to package directions, and let it cool. Defrost the spinach and squeeze out all the moisture. Toss all ingredients together.

Voila!

Week 65: Cold Farro Salad

I am always in search of wonderful new grains to use in the kitchen. I love making cold salads that I can keep in the refrigerator and eat for lunch throughout the workweek. Quinoa has been a standby ever since Costco started selling large bags of the organic stuff for a great price. A couple of weeks ago I saw that the same brand was selling farro in bulk at Costco, so I snatched some up. I didn't really use a recipe, but just threw some stuff in there that I already had in the fridge, and I knew would work. The finished product was a grain that was nutty and chewy, which was great with cold, crisp vegetables. I enjoyed this with cheese; some days goat and some days feta.

Year of Yum Rating: 3 1/2 STARS

INGREDIENTS
1 cup farro
3 cups water
bell pepper (I used the miniature ones from Costco that come in bags with red, orange, and yellow), diced
1 seedless cucumber, diced
olive oil
lemon
salt
pepper
cheese if desired

DIRECTIONS
Cook the farro according to package directions. It called for 3 cups of liquid to one cup of dry farro. I put some salt in the water while it was cooking. I also ended up with extra water in the pot after I deemed the farro to be done, so I just threw it in a strainer.

When dicing the peppers and cukes, I scraped the "guts" out of the cucumber even though it was seedless. I didn't want my salad to get too wet and soupy.

Squeeze the juice of one lemon, and add olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste. Toss with the farro and veggies. Let chill in the refrigerator before serving.

Week 64: Goat Cheese, Caramelized Onion, and Smoked Salmon Pizza

Listen up. This pizza is somethin' special. Something I would be proud to serve to dinner guests. Not to mention the fact that this is the only dish I've had that has made me think that I just might have a future with a fish that is not out of a can.

This pizza features SWEET caramelized onions, SALTY goat cheese, SMOKY salmon, PEPPERY arugula, and (get ready for this...) SOUR lemons. Wow.

Next time:

-More lemon...I want some in EVERY bite
-I made sure to leave plenty of crust on the outside to hold on to when eating the pizza, but every bite that didn't have toppings made me sad. Handle shmandle.
-Something I did right = get premade crust from Papa Murphy's, and just baked the pizza on that cardboard circle it comes on. I'll definitely do that again.

Year of Yum Rating: 4 1/2 STARS

INGREDIENTS
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, sliced thin
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 batch of pizza dough
salt, for sprinkling
4 oz smoked salmon, sliced
olive oil
fresh arugula
4 oz goat cheese, crumbled
1 lemon, sliced thin (we used a meyer lemon)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 500°F with pizza stone or thin baking sheet on the bottom rack (unless your crust is already on a handy-dandy cardboard disk).

Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a wide sauté pan on medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté for one minute. Add brown sugar. Continue to sauté for 10-15 minutes until the onions are soft, sweet, and brownish. Remove from heat.

Sprinkle some salt on the dough and then distribute the toppings: arugula, caramelized onions, goat cheese, prosciutto, and lemon slices. Put the pizza in the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until desired doneness.

Week 63: Tuna & White Bean Salad

This was SO easy to make, as well as being a convenient, refreshing, and yummy source of protein. Abby and I noticed that this was also our first "seafood" dish that we've made. Neither of us are big seafood fans, but I do enjoy canned tuna! I ate this as leftovers two other times the week we made it, and it was still delicious.

Year of Yum Rating: 4 STARS

INGREDIENTS
2 6oz cans of tuna, drained (oil-packed recommended)
1 15oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 12oz jar roasted red peppers, drained and roughly chopped
2 Tablespoons capers
zest 1 lemon, grated
1 tomato, sliced (optional)
Juice of 1 fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
toasted bread, for serving

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, combine the tuna, beans, red peppers, capers, and lemon zest. In a separate bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, oil, salt, and black pepper. Pour the vinaigrette over the tuna mixture and toss. Serve on the toasted bread, topped with a tomato slice.