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 56: PW's Sundried Tomato Pasta Salad

Another successful recipe from good ol' Pioneer Woman. This isn't your regular pasta salad. It's the kind of pasta salad that you can feel good about bringing outside and letting it sit there for a bit while you enjoy the summer weather because it doesn't have a mayo-based dressing. It's the kind of pasta salad that you feel kind of healthy eating. It's light, and refreshing, and pretty much has some of my favorite Mediterranean flavors.

Don't even think about leaving out the olives. Or the fresh basil. I can't be held responsible if you do.

Now, I forgot my camera when going to cook at Abby's apartment. I told her not to worry, and that I would take a picture of the leftovers when I ate them. Well, I'll be darned if I didn't scarf down those leftovers before they could say "cheese." I guess that means that I'll just have to make it again sometime soon, and I'll post a picture when I do. Ah, the sacrifices I make...

Year of Yum Rating: 4 1/2 STARS

INGREDIENTS
DRESSING:
1 jar sundried tomatoes (7 Oz.)
4 cloves garlic
3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt And pepper, to taste

SALAD:
16 ounces whole wheat pasta
1 jar Kalamata olives
1 pint ripe cherry or grape tomatoes (cut in halves)
10 leaves basil (10-15 Leaves), chopped or julienne
1-½ cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

DIRECTIONS

Dressing:
In a blender combine sundried tomatoes, garlic, salt, pepper, and vinegar until tomatoes are chopped. Continue blending while drizzling in olive oil until mixed together.

Pasta:
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water until no longer hot.

Pour 2/3 of the dressing over the pasta. Add olives and toss together. Add remaining ingredients, tossing together and adding more dressing until the salad is coated to your liking.

Serve on a big platter with an extra sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

Week 50: Cool Asian Noodles With Tofu, Cashews, and Sesame Vinaigrette

Abby commented that she was looking for a cool-me-down recipe since her classroom has been really hot in the afternoons. This cold pasta dish...almost an Asian pasta salad...fit the bill. We DID make a few minor adjustments.

We used tempeh instead of tofu. This was kind of by mistake, but it was yummy anyway. We just steamed the tempeh according the the package directions, crumbled it in a bowl, and threw it in the bowl with the oils, lime juice, and salt so it could soak up all the yumminess. Through a little research I learned that tempeh is actually healthier than tofu. Since it's less processed, it has more protein and fiber than tofu.

We used roasted peanuts instead of roasted cashews, just out of personal preference.

We cut our carrots a little bigger than "shredded" which turned out to be just dandy.

We also decided that we might use whole wheat pasta if we made this again, and were actually buying spaghetti from the store rather than using what was already around the house.

Year of Yum Rating: 3 1/2 STARS

INGREDIENTS
5 ounces spaghetti (about a 1/3 of a box)
1 carrot, shredded
1 Kirby cucumber, cut into ¼-inch pieces
4 ounces firm tofu, cut into cubes
¼ cup chopped roasted cashews
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
kosher salt

DIRECTIONS
1.Cook the pasta according to the package directions; drain and run under cold water to cool.
2.In a large bowl, toss the pasta, carrot, cucumber, tofu, cashews, oils, lime juice, and ½ teaspoon kosher salt.
3.Divide the salad between 2 containers and refrigerate for up to 1 day.