Greek Pasta Salad

Pasta salad just sounds so good sometimes when it’s so hot that you don’t want to cook dinner. Today was one of those days. It’s actually not that hot, but it was 3:00 and I just wanted dinner to be done. I love dinners that can be done WAY before dinner time. Especially on days where the kids are especially annoying:)

This dish is so fast and beyond delicious.

20 oz. tortellini (I use Buitoni)

1 15oz can medium olives, sliced

1/2 red onion, diced

1 cucumber, diced

1 tomato, diced

4 oz. feta cheese

3-4oz pepperoni, sliced

Cook tortellini according to package directions. Drain and run under cold water until cool. Mix with olives, onion, cucumber, tomato, feta cheese and pepperoni. Top with dressing (recipe to follow.)

Greek Dressing

1/3 cup plus 1T olive oil

1 t garlic powder

1 t dried oregano

1 t dried basil

1 t salt

1/4 t pepper

3/4 t onion powder

3/4 t spicy brown mustard

2 t sugar

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

Combine all ingredients into a jar or a container with a lid and shake. Pour over your favorite salad.

Creamy Coleslaw

For Father’s Day, Justin wanted pulled pork sandwiches, so I decided to find the best coleslaw recipe out there. This one caught my eye because it had buttermilk in it and buttermilk makes everything better:) It’s a runnier sauce, but I LOVED it. I also loved how it got better and better each day it sat in the fridge. So delicious!

28 oz. bag of Coleslaw mix
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 t salt
1/8 t pepper
1 1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup buttermilk
2T white vinegar
2 1/2 T lemon juice
2t Dijon mustard

In a large bowl, combine everything but the cabbage mix. Whisk until smooth. Add the cabbage mix and mix well. Cover and refrigerate overnight, stirring every once in a while. Stir well before serving. It gets better with time!

*From Key Ingredient

Avocado Chicken Salad

Made this. Loved it. Then I made it again because I didn’t feel guilty AT ALL because it’s delicious, easy AND healthy:)

1 cup shredded chicken (I use canned chicken and it’s great)

1 avocado, mashed

1 lime

1-2 T cilantro depending on how much you like it

salt and pepper

Add chicken and avocado to a bowl and mix. Add lime, cilantro, salt and pepper to taste. Eat with crackers, in a sandwich or on my personal favorite, Bagel Thins. Enjoy!

Southwest Salad Dressing

This salad is the best. EVER. I got this recipe from my sister-in-law, Alyssa. She changed my life with it when I visited a few months back. It’s the dressing that makes it super-duper good. It’s a southwest dressing with a little bit of a kick. It’s like nothing I’ve had before and I’m completely addicted. 

And besides the dressing being AMAZING, you can make the salad what you want! Put whatever the heck you want in there. I usually always do fresh corn and black beans, but I’ve put quinoa in there, blue cheese, sliced almonds, crushed up tortilla chips, avocado, red peppers, you name it – I’ve done it. That’s what I like about it! My favorite thing to do right now is marinate some shrimp in the dressing itself and then grill them for a great salad topper. YUMMMM. The key to the salad is the dressing. Get creative!!
I've made this for 2 parties so far and have been asked countless times for the recipe. It's SOOO good!!!

Southwest Dressing:
1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1/4 cup lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced
2t chipotle chili powder
2T honey
1/2t sea salt
1 cup cilantro
3/4 cup olive oil

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour on your favorite salad or use as a marinade.

For the Salad:
1-2 heads romaine lettuce
1 bag baby spinach
2-3 ears fresh corn, cooked
1/2 c black beans
1/4 cup cotija cheese (or any kind of mexican cheese)
1-2 avocado, diced
tortilla chips, crushed (I like to use Tostitos Roasted Garlic and Black Bean chips…or you can use southwest tortilla strips)

Toss your creation into a large salad bowl and top with the Southwest Dressing.

Asian Pasta Salad

I LOVE salads like this. You don’t have to cook a dang thing and it’s so refreshing. I’ve really been on this Asian kick too…loving the toasted sesame oil. And the best part is that it gets better and better as the days go by. The perfect salad to make and have for lunch the next day…and the next…and the next…

1 lb bowtie pasta
1/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon soy sauce
2-3 T sesame oil
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon honey
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 red, yellow or orange bell peppers, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
2-3 cups of rotisserie chicken, cut into bite sized pieces (put more chicken if you want it meatier)
3 tablespoons toasted sesame seed
3 cups washed baby spinach

Boil and cook pasta. Make sure to salt the cooking water. Drain pasta and set and rinse with cold water. In a separate bowl combine oil, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey and rice vinegar until well blended. In a large bowl combine pasta, peppers, onion, chicken and spinach. Toss with the sauce until well combined. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Keep in fridge until ready to eat, or serve immediately, either way is delicious.

California Salad Bowl

My mother-in-law introduced this to me. I LOVE it. It's perfect for summer too. So fresh, crisp and the avocado dressing...MMMM. I could eat it by the spoonful. It goes great with everything and would be a wonderful addition to your next barbeque.

Salad:

1 head romail lettuce, chopped

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1-2 tomatoes, chopped

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 (16oz) can pitted olives, drained and cut in half

1 cup slightly crushed corn chips

Avocado Dressing

Avocado Dressing:

1 ripe avocado, peeled and seed removed

Juice of 1 lemon (about 1-2 T)

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup vegetable oil

salt to taste (You're going to have salt from the cheese and chips so keep that in mind)

In a blender, mix dressing ingredients together until very smooth. Combine salad ingredients in a large bowl. Pour dressing over salad and toss to mix well. Serve immediately.

PS: I don't recommend dressing the salad until RIGHT before you serve it. If you aren't going to eat it all, don't dress it all because it doesn't keep...but that's OK because you're probably going to eat the whole salad yourself:)

Southwest Pasta Salad

This has to be my new favorite dish. I. LOVE. IT. It doesn't get any better than this. Ok, it could be considered "chick food" but I guess no one gave my hubs the memo cause he ate it up!! It's completely delicious and I can guarantee that if you take this to any sort of dinner party, it'll be the hit and people will be begging you for the recipe. Yep folks, it's that good. It's the best because you can have it as a side dish or add chicken and make it a main course. We had it with quesadillas and it was the perfect dinner (just like Our Best Bites suggested.) Any way you have it, you'll love it.

1/2 lb bowtie pasta
1 (14oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 roma tomatoes, diced or about 3/4 C or halved cherry tomatoes (I actually used canned petite diced tomatoes cause I had it - delish)
1 large red, yellow, or orange bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/2 cup frozen fresh corn
zest from 2 limes
optional: 8 oz diced cooked chicken
1/2 cup shredded pepper-jack cheese

Dressing:
6 Tbs fresh lime juice (about 3 juicy limes)
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
4-5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander (I didn't use this)
1/2 tsp kosher or sea salt
2 tsp sugar (add a touch more if your limes are extra sour/bitter)
3/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro

Boil pasta in salted water until cooked. While it's cooking, prepare dressing.

First zest your limes and place the zest in a large salad bowl.

Place the lime juice, vinegar, garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, salt and sugar in a blender. (Basically everything except the cilantro and oil) Process until smooth. With the motor running slowly, add the oil in a steady stream until incorporated. Add the cilantro and pulse so it gets broken up, but some pieces still remain in tact.

When pasta is done cooking, drain and rinse immediately with cold water to cool. Place the pasta in the large salad bowl with the lime zest. Add black beans, tomatoes, diced pepper, green onions, corn (no need to thaw the corn), and chicken if desired. Toss with dressing. Taste, and add additional salt and pepper to taste. For best results, chill for 1 hour before serving. Right before serving, sprinkle cheese on top. Serve with extra lime wedges if desired.

*From Our Best Bites

Cafe Rio Chicken Salad

For some reason some of the pictures are going sideways and it's driving me CRAZY!!! In my opinion, this is THE BEST recipe out there for Cafe Rio salads! The dressing is EXACTLY the same as Cafe Rio...TRUST ME...THESE ARE AMAZING!! Tortillas:
4 c flour
1 t baking powder
3 t salt
½ c shortening
1 ½ c hot water

To flour add baking powder and salt. Add shortening, blend with no lumps. Add water. Knead for 15 minutes. Set aside for about 10-15 minutes (or more if you have the time.) Roll out 1 ½ inch balls. Put in frying pan with NO nonstick spray. Then place shredded cheese on one side to melt.

*You can use store-bought tortillas...but do yourself a favor and MAKE THESE! To make them stay thin and big, roll them out on a VERY lightly floured surface and leave them stretched out for a few minutes so they don't shrink back up when you lift them from the counter. Put in the frying pan and only lightly brown both sides. The one in this pictures is almost too overdone. The less you cook them, the softer they stay...or if you like a crisper tortilla, leave it on longer. To melt the cheese, I put a lid over then frying pan for about 30 seconds or less and it melts instantly.
Lime Rice:
Sauté:
2 T butter
1 yellow onion chopped
4 cloves minced garlic

Bring to a boil:
6 2/3 c water
8 t chicken bullion (or 8 cubes)
½ bunch cilantro chopped
2 t cumin
2 small cans diced green chilies
1 T lime juice
½ t salt

Add onion and garlic to boiling water. Add 3 cups rice of your choice (not instant). Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 min.

Chicken:

5 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 large bottle Zesty Italian Dressing
1 cup salsa
1 T chili powder
1 T cumin
3 cloves minced garlic

Mix all ingredients in a large crock pot and cook for 10-12 hours. I usually just put the chicken in frozen. Right before serving stir and chicken should shred itself. Make sure not to shred chicken too early because it soaks up all of the juices too soon. Shred it right before serving.

Tomatillo Dressing:

1 package Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch Dressing mix
1 c Buttermilk
1 c mayonnaise
1-2 tomatillos
1 clove minced garlic
½ bunch cilantro chopped
½ t lime juice
1 small jalapeno, seeds and core removed

Blend ingredients in a blender till smooth. I ALWAYS double this recipe (except the jalapeno...one's enough for me!)

* Layer salad in this order: tortilla with cheese, black beans, lime rice, chicken, romaine lettuce cut thinly, dressing, pico de gallo, guacamole, lime wedge, and cilantro and parmesan to top it off. This makes enough for at least 10-12 people...and you'll even end up with leftovers! But that's fine with me because Justin and I have this salad for dinner about 3 more times after the first day...it makes A LOT! Trust me...MAKE THIS NOW...you won't regret it!

Santa Rosa Salad

1 box Uncle Ben’s long grain & wild rice
1 T lemon juice or juice of 1 lemon
3 chicken breasts, cooked with seasonings and diced
4 green onions diced
1 red pepper diced
3 oz. fresh pea pods with ends removed (snow peas)
2 medium avocados, diced
1 c. slivered almonds, toasted in oven
Romaine lettuce leaves or croissants

Dressing:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T Dijon mustard]
½ t salt
¼ t pepper
1/3 c seasoned rice wine vinegar
1/3 vegetable oil

Combine dressing ingredients in blender. Cover and refrigerate. Mix all salad ingredients except avocados and almonds. Combine with dressing and refrigerate (it’s best when refrigerated overnight.) Before serving, add avocados and almonds. Serve in romaine lettuce leaves as a lettuce wrap or in crescent rolls as a chicken salad. I usually double the recipe, especially if you are making it for a shower. (Pictured here with Crescent Potato Puff Rolls brushed with a parmesan, garlic butter…recipe included in book)

Oriental Chicken Salad

1 head cabbage shredded
1-2 cups cooked, diced chicken
2 packages oriental flavored Ramen noodles
1 package slivered almonds

Break up ramen noodles and sauté in a pan with almonds and 2 T butter for 5 minutes. Put on a cookie sheet and toast in oven at 350 degrees for about 5-10 minutes until browned.

Dressing:
½ c red wine vinegar
½ c oil
4 T sugar
2 t salt
Pepper

Dissolve sugar, salt and pepper in vinegar. Add oil and shake.

*This can be a main dish (with chicken) or just a side dish by removing the chicken