Pesto Pasta Salad

Original Link: http://homeiswheretheholmansare.blogspot.com/search/label/Side%20Dish

Pesto Pasta Salad
Pesto recipe adapted from Food Network

1 cup packed basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 pound rotini
1/3 cup roasted red pepper strips, chopped
1/3 cup sliced black olives
1/3 cup red onion, chopped
2 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, cubed
1/4 - 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Boil a large pot of water over high heat. When the water reaches a boil, add salt and add pasta. Cook according to package directions to al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water. Transfer to a large bowl. Combine basil, garlic and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped, slowly stream in olive oil with processor running until uniform. Stir in cheese and pour over pasta. Toss to distribute and add red peppers, olives, onions, and mozzarella cheese. Mix in crushed red pepper flakes. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes prior to serving.


My notes: I used store bought pesto instead of making my own. Also, I added more than 1/3 cup of the olives and red pepper strips. I also added more cheese. I just added as much as I thought it needed.

Israeli Couscous Salad

1 cup Israeli couscous

2 cups vegetable or chicken broth

4 T olive oil, divided

2 cups dried cranberries (craisins)

1 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup spring onions, white parts only, chopped

1/2 medium sized red onion, finely chopped

1 oz cilantro, chopped

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 shallot, minced

1/2 lemon

sea salt to taste

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, heat 1 T olive oil over medium high heat.
Add the couscous and stir about 1 minute, until the couscous is lightly browned.
Stir in 2 cups of broth.*
Cover with a lid and reduce heat to low.
Simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the couscous has absorbed most of the liquid and is al dente.
Drain in a colander but do not rinse.
Once cooled, stir in the remaining 3 T olive oil to coat and separate the grains.

In a serving dish, combine the couscous with craisins, pine nuts, spring onions, red onion, cilantro, lemon zest and shallots. Spritz with lemon juice and adjust seasoning with the sea salt to taste.

Note: This can be a very seasonal dish; simply dice additional fresh vegetables (butternut squash in the fall, zucchini in the summer) and toss in.
* Of course, you can always boil it in plain water as you would pasta and drain it; but I prefer the extra boost of flavor that comes from using a broth.

This recipe courtesy of this blog.

Quinoa Bean Salad

Dressing Ingredients:
(Combine in a large bowl and whisk together)
3 T extra-virgin olive oil
3 T canola oil
3 T balsamic vinegar
2 tsp honey or agave
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (more if you like spice!)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 clover garlic, minced

Salad Ingredients:
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa, cooled
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 cup green bell pepper, diced
1 cup celery, chopped
3 scallions (green onion), finely chopped
2 T fresh parsley, chopped
Add salad ingredients to the dressing, mix well, and chill for about an hour. Store in the refrigerator for up to five days.

This lovely recipe was plucked from my friend Marci's blog. Marci is a dietitian/nutritionist as well as a kick in the pants!

**This salad is a lot tastier than my photo might lead you to believe.

Waldorf Salad

Ingredients
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/3 to 1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

1/4 cup grated yellow onion
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch cayenne
2 cups diced sweet red apples, such as Gala or Jonathan (2 to 3 medium apples)
1 cup thinly sliced celery
1/2 cup red seedless grapes, halved
1/2 cup walnut pieces, broken
1 head Bibb lettuce, cored and leaves separated

Directions
In a bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise and vinegar. Slowly add 1/3 cup buttermilk, whisking to thicken. Add the blue cheese, onion, salt, pepper, and cayenne, and whisk well to combine, adding more buttermilk, as desired. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the apples, celery, grapes, and walnuts. Add the dressing, to taste, and toss well.
Arrange the lettuce leaves on 6 salad plates. Top with the tossed salad and serve.

Easy Lemon/Cheese Danish

Ingredients
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
2 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
2 tablespoons ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
2 sheets (1 box) frozen puff pastry, defrosted
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream them together on low speed until smooth. With the mixer still on low, add the egg yolks, ricotta, vanilla, salt, and lemon zest and mix until just combined. Don't whip!
Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured board and roll it slightly with a floured rolling pin until it's a 10 by 10-inch square. Cut the sheet into quarters with a sharp knife. Place a heaping tablespoon of cheese filling into the middle of each of the 4 squares. Brush the border of each pastry with egg wash and fold 2 opposite corners to the center, brushing and overlapping the corners of each pastry so they firmly stick together. Brush the top of the pastries with egg wash. Place the pastries on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry and refrigerate the filled Danish for 15 minutes.
Bake the pastries for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan once during baking, until puffed and brown. Serve warm.

Sticky Rice With Mango

1 1/2 cups glutinous (sweet) rice

1 1/3 cups well-stirred canned unsweetened coconut milk

1/3 cup plus 3 TBS sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 TBS sesame seeds, toasted lightly

1 large mango, peeled, pitted and cut into thin slices

In a bowl wash rice well in several changes of cold water until water is clear. Soak rice in cold water covered overnight

Drain rice well in a sieve. Set sieve over a large deep saucepan of simmering water (sieve should not touch water) and steam rice, covered with a kitchen towel and a lid, 30 to 40 minutes, or until tender (check water level in pan occasionally, adding more water if necessary).

While rice is cooking, in a small saucepan bring 1 cup coconut milk to a boil with 1/3 cup sugar and salt, stirring until sugar is dissolved, and remove from heat. Keep mixture warm.

Transfer cooked rice to a bowl and stir in coconut milk mixture. Let rice stand, covered 30 minutes or until coconut milk mixture is absorbed. Rice may be prepared up to this point 2 hours ahead and kept covered at room temperature.

While rice is standing in a cleaned small pan slowly boil remaining 1/3 cup coconut milk with remaining 3 TBS of sugar, stirring occasionally, 1 minute. Transfer sauce to a small bowl and chill until cool and thickened slightly.

To serve, mold 1/4 cup servings of sticky rice on dessert plates. Drizzle with sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Divide mango slices among plates.

Serves 6

Sesame Peanut Noodles

*I found this recipe on the "cook yourself thin" website from the show on Lifetime. It was a lot more work than I thought it would be and has a lot of random ingredients. But if you are up for something adventurous it is definitely worth a try!

For the noodles:

8 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti

For the dressing:

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup peanut butter

2 tablespoons grated ginger

1 tablespoon dark sesame oil

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 lime

1/2 cup hot water

For assembling:

1/2 bag store-bought coleslaw mix

1/2 cup red pepper

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1/2 lime, squeezed

1/2 cup apple
1/2 cup jicama

1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

2 scallions, julienne

1/2 cup dry-roasted peanuts, for garnish

Cilantro, chopped, for garnish

Lime wedges, for garnish

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta, and cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain and run under cold water.

2. To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients into a small mixing bowl and stir together with a whisk. Add the dressing to the pasta and toss. Stir in the coleslaw mix, red pepper and cilantro. Squeeze a half of a lime over the mixture, and toss.

3. Add the remaining ingredients, toss and refrigerate for one hour. Garnish with peanuts, cilantro and lime wedges. Serve.

Potato Corn Soup

I've never had the perfect "go to" soup recipe....until this one. My friend Krista sent it to me and I think I'm in love. I've made it three times in the past month. And since there's bacon involved, my husband loves it too. The only fat in the soup is a couple Tbls of bacon grease; but no added cream or butter. So don't feel bad indulging in this bowl. Of course it's even yummier with homemade bread.

POTATO CORN SOUP
6 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/3 cup flour (if soup is too runny when you're done, add more flour to a small amount of water and then add to the soup)
2 cans (14 oz each) reduced-sodium chicken broth
4 medium-sized Red potatoes (diced into small cubes)
1 package frozen corn kernels (sweet white corn is best)
1/2 tsp dried Thyme
1 cup milk
salt and ground pepper

In a large pot, cook bacon over medium-low, stirring occasionally, until crisp (8-10 min). Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. You will use the left-over grease for the soup. Since fat content varies with bacon brands, you'll only need appx 2 Tbl of the grease for the soup. Additional grease beyond that can be discarded.

Add flour to the bacon grease, stirring constantly for 30 seconds. Add broth and potato, bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Cook till potato is tender, stirring regularly (about 7-8 min; potatoes taste best when slightly al dente and will continue to cook as you add the remaining ingredients). Add corn, thyme, and milk. Bring to a boil and simmer for a few minutes, stirring regularly. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper. Serve topped with bacon.

Sopapilla Cheesecake Pie

2 (8 ounce) packages low fat cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 (8 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent rolls
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, room temperature



DIRECTIONS
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Beat the cream cheese with 3/4 cup of sugar and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth.
Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape each piece into 9x13 inch rectangles. Press one piece into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough. Stir together 1/2 cup of sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Pour the mixture over the top of the cheesecake.
Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle with honey. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 squares.

YUM!!

Crepes

4 eggs
2 c flour
1.5 c milk
1 c water
6 tbs melted butter

For sweeter crepes:
2 tbs vanilla
4 tbs sugar

Mix all ingredients in mixing bowl, (temper melted butter so it doesn't cook eggs before adding to mix) Whisk well. Rest in fridge for 20-30 minutes to let bubbles subside (I'm usually too lazy to do this, and haven't noticed a difference...but you probably should) Heat large frying pan to medium, and coat w/ cooking spray. Pour 1/2 c crepe batter in center of pan and swirl to coat. Cook until the crepe slips in pan when you give it a firm shake. (usually about 30-45 second) Slide spatula under crepe and slowly flip (crepes can easily tear at this point, so be careful) Let cook another 10-15 seconds to preferred doneness. Slide crepe out of pan to cool. COAT PAN W/ COOKING SPRAY AFTER EACH CREPE.


For me, this recipe make about a dozen large crepes. You may want to halve recipe.

Sangria Punch

I got this mock sangria recipe from the Kraft foods website.

- 1 qt. (4 cups) cold reduced calorie cranberry juice cocktail
- 1 cup cold orange juice
- 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
- 3/4 cup COUNTRY TIME Lemonade or Pink Lemonade Flavor Drink Mix
- 3 cups cold club soda
- 2 oranges, sliced
- 2 limes, sliced

1. Add cranberry juice cocktail, orange juice and lime juice to drink mix in large pitcher; stir until mix is dissolved.
2. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
3. Stir in club soda and fruit. Serve over ice cubes.

*I couldn't find the lemonade drink mix so I substituted one tub of crystal light raspberry ice drink mix.