Italian Pasta Salad

This is your basic pasta salad, but it is delicious. With the hot and humid weather, it was the perfect dinner. I just found things we had on hand to add to it, but it was tasty. A refreshing meal for the warm weather, I made it last night and had it waiting, cold, in the fridge for me when I came home. I look forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Italian Pasta Salad
Spiral noodles (cooked and drained)
Italian dressing (to taste)
Artichokes (halved and julienned)
Green olives, sliced
Pepperoni slices, julienned
Feta cheese
Pepper to taste

From One Baker to Another!

Whenever I shop for gifts for bridal showers, I try to get something off their registries  and then add to it to give it my personal touch. A cookbook and some cooking utensils, tea and a teapot, etc. I recently attended two bridal showers one for my cousin and one for my coworker and found a cute idea to personalize your gifts on a website. I got both of the brides something that they can use to cook or bake with, one a set of mixing bowls and the other cookie cutters. I then purchased empty canning jars at the store and added the dry ingredients needed to make different batches of cookies. You put a label on the jar to tell them what kind of cookies they can make with it and what wet ingredients they need to add, put a little fabric on top and twist on the cap. An easy way to help make the bride's life a little easier during the stressful planning and a way to help her enjoy some baked goodies in no time.

Quick-Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce with Spaghetti

Another good recipe from Cooking Light! This was a refreshing summer pasta with a lot of flavor. I think next time I would add more red pepper flakes to give it a little more of a kick, possibly even try and melt the goat cheese so it evenly coats the pasta. I suggest you try this recipe, it is very tasty! Jackie and Sally joined us for dinner, Sally provided so much entertainment for us. I had to include a few pictures of Silly Sally! Thanks for coming over guys!

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 1/3 cups)

Ingredients

• 4  quarts water
• 1  tablespoon  kosher salt
• 12  ounces  uncooked spaghetti
• 2  pints cherry tomatoes
• 3  tablespoons  extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1  tablespoon  red wine vinegar
• 1/2  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 1/8  teaspoon  crushed red pepper
• 1/4  cup  chopped or torn fresh basil leaves
• 1/4  cup  chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 3/4  cup  (3 ounces) crumbled semisoft goat cheese

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large Dutch oven. Add 1 tablespoon salt and spaghetti to boiling water; cook 10 minutes or until spaghetti is al dente. Drain spaghetti in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water. Return spaghetti to pan; set aside, and keep warm.
3. While spaghetti cooks, combine tomatoes, 1 tablespoon olive oil, vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper on a jelly-roll pan, tossing well to coat. Bake tomato mixture at 450° for 10 minutes or until tomatoes are soft and lightly charred in places.
4. Add tomatoes and any tomato juice to spaghetti in Dutch oven. Add 1/4 cup reserved cooking water to jelly-roll pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; carefully pour water mixture and remaining 2 tablespoons oil into spaghetti mixture. Place Dutch oven over medium heat. Add remaining reserved cooking water, 2 tablespoons at a time, until spaghetti mixture is moist, tossing frequently. Stir in basil and parsley. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve immediately.

Lemon-Cornmeal Pound Cake with Berries and Cream

This recipe is seriously to die for and even better, it is from Cooking Light. This is the perfect summer dessert. The recipe makes a whole bundt cake so you won't even have to be sad that you ate it all at once, since there is so much of it! This would be a real crowd pleaser, so light and fluffy. The perfect way to eat your dessert and not feel guilty about it because of the fruit.

Recipe Compliments of Cooking Light June
Yield: 16 servings (serving size: 1 cake slice, about 1/4 cup berries, and 1 tablespoon cream)

Ingredients

• Cake:
• 7.9  ounces  all-purpose flour (1 3/4 cups)
• 1/2  cup  cornmeal
• 1  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1 1/2  cups  granulated sugar
• 10  tablespoon  butter, softened
• 3  large eggs
• 2  teaspoons  grated lemon rind
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 2/3  cup  nonfat buttermilk
• 3  tablespoons  fresh lemon juice
• 3  large egg whites
• Cooking spray
• 2  tablespoons  all-purpose flour
• 
  Topping:
• 1 1/2  cups  fresh blueberries
• 1 1/2  cups  sliced fresh strawberries
• 1  cup  fresh blackberries
• 1/4  cup  granulated sugar
• 1  tablespoon  fresh lemon juice
• 1/2  cup  heavy whipping cream
• 2  tablespoons  powdered sugar

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. To prepare cake, weigh or lightly spoon 7.9 ounces (about 1 3/4 cups) flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients (through salt). Combine 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until blended; stir in rind and vanilla. Combine buttermilk and 3 tablespoons juice. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
3. Place egg whites in a large, clean bowl; beat at high speed using clean, dry beaters until stiff peaks form. Gently fold half of egg whites into batter. Gently fold in remaining egg whites. Spoon batter into a 10-inch tube pan coated with cooking spray and dusted with 2 tablespoons flour. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan; cool completely on wire rack.
4. To prepare topping, combine berries, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and 1 tablespoon juice. Chill 30 minutes. Beat cream with a mixer at high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Serve cake with berries and cream.

Spring Vegetable Carbonara

I got this recipe from Cooking Light and it was delicious! It was the perfect pasta for a warm day, you serve it warm, but the vegetables are all cooled making it the perfect combination. I promise to keep up on my blogging this week, I have been slacking lately, with the nice weather it is hard to stay inside long enough to make a new recipe. Happy Spring and enjoy this delicious recipe. You can make it using any pasta, I just chose to use the cavatappi for a change, but next time I think I will use whole wheat pasta.

Recipe Compliments of Cooking Light

Ingredients

• 1/2  cup  frozen green peas, thawed
• 12  ounces  asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 8  ounces  uncooked cavatappi pasta ( I used colored cavatappi)
• 1/2  cup  (2 ounces) grated pecorino Romano cheese
• 1/2  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 3  large eggs, lightly beaten
• 4  slices center-cut bacon, chopped
• 1  cup  chopped seeded red bell pepper

Preparation

1. Cook peas and asparagus in boiling water for 3 minutes or until asparagus is crisp-tender; drain. Plunge into ice water; drain. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain pasta in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Combine pasta and vegetables.
2. Combine cheese and the next 3 ingredients (through eggs) in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Gradually add hot cooking liquid to egg mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in pan. Add bacon to pasta mixture. Cook bell pepper in drippings for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add pasta mixture; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Remove pan from heat, and stir in egg mixture. Return pan to low heat; cook for 2 minutes or until sauce thickens slightly, stirring constantly.

Lemon Poppyseed Shortbread

While going through my cookbooks the other day for new recipes, I stumbled upon this recipe from my William Senoma Baking Cookbook (thank you Kathryn!). It sounded delicious and trust me, it tasted delicious. The best part, it had very few ingredients and was super easy to make. We polished this off in two days!! I plan to make another one this week before my other lemon goes bad. It combines my two favorite things, shortbread and lemon poppyseed! I suggest you give this a try!

Lemon Poppyseed Shortbread
Recipe Compliments of William Senoma Baking Cookbook

• ½ cup unsalted butter plus 3 Tbsp
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 1½ cup flour plus 2 Tbsp
• 2 Tbsp poppy-seeds
• 1 pinch salt

• 1. Preheat the oven to 325. Have ready a 9" cake or pie pan.
• 2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together the butter, sugar, and lemon zest until creamy. Add the flour, poppy-seeds, and salt and beat on low speed until the dough comes together and is smooth.
• 3. Press the dough evenly into the pan. Lightly prick the surface all over with a fork. Using a sharp knife, make shallow cuts halfway through the dough to mark 12 equal wedges. Bake until firm and barely golden around the edges, 45-50 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Carefully invert the shortbread onto a plate, then invert again onto a cutting board. Cut into wedges, using the marks to guide you, and serve.

Creamy Taco Mac

This was a delicious recipe and it was super easy. It was a nice change of pace from tacos. The only problem was we didn't have any ground turkey, so I used ground beef. The taste was still there, but I prefer to use ground turkey, as it is better for you. This would be a good weeknight meal when you are tired after work and want to make some quick and easy. I also think it would be kid-friendly. Enjoy and Happy Belated Cinco De Mayo!

Creamy Taco Mac 
Recipe Compliments of Annie's Eats
Ingredients:
1¼ lbs. ground turkey
8 oz. dry pasta shapes (I used whole wheat spiral pasta)
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained
4 tbsp. taco seasoning (She has her own homemade taco seasoning, I cheated and used what I had in the cupboard)
3 oz. cream cheese
½ cup sour cream
Salt and pepper
Shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions: 
Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Cook pasta according to the package directions.  Drain, reserving ½ cup of pasta water.  Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet or sauté pan, cook the ground turkey over medium-high heat until no longer pink.  A few minutes before the turkey is cooked through, add the chopped onion to the skillet.  Once the turkey is cooked through, mix in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Mix in the diced tomatoes and taco seasoning and let simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes.  Stir in the cooked pasta, cream cheese, sour cream and reserved pasta water, and continue stirring until the cream cheese is melted and the sauce is well blended.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer over medium-low heat 3-5 minutes to reduce the sauce a bit.  Remove from the heat and top with shredded cheddar cheese, if desired.

No Mess or Oil Southwestern Egg Rolls= Me :)

Have you ever had The Cheesecake Factory's Avocado Egg rolls? If so, then you'll understand my obsession with replicating the recipe. I found a cookbook a few years ago with the recipe in it and thought I had hit the jackpot, only problem, it was so much work and called for many ingredients. I'll admit, I got lazy and never even tried making them, even though the recipe was the reason I bought the book. I did; however, find some other great replicated recipes from that book, so I guess I can justify the purchase now. Now, a few years later, I decided my quest for Southwestern Egg rolls shouldn't end with my lazy pursuit, so I did some digging one of the many blogs I follow and found this recipe, AMAZING! It was delicious, they were gobbled up so fast that we hardly had enough room for our real meal! I made these for our friends last night when we were BBQing and I must say, these are my new favorite. I plan to make them again this coming weekend for Mother's Day when we have my family over. The best part, normally when I make egg rolls, I have to fry them in oil and it usually makes me lose my appetite for them when you see how they are prepared, but for this recipe, you simply spray them with cooking spray and pop them in the oven. This weekend I am going to get crazy and add Avocado to them, I am a rebel like that. Try these for sure, they are the perfect appetizer and aren't very spicy, plus they don't seem to be unhealthy since you don't fry them!

Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls
Recipe Compliments of Annie's Eats
Ingredients:
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 (4 oz.) can diced green chiles, drained
4 green onions, chopped
1 tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
1 package egg roll wrappers (about 24 total)


Directions:
In a large bowl, combine everything but the egg roll wrappers.  Mix well to blend.  Lay an egg roll wrapper out on a work surface so that one of the corners is pointing toward you and place ¼ cup of the filling in the center.  Fold the tip closest to you up over the filling, roll a bit, then take the points pointing outward and fold them in toward the center.  Continue rolling into an egg roll shape until a small part of the remaining point is still free.  Dip a finger in water or beaten egg and lightly brush on the edges of the free corner.  Finish rolling and press to seal closed.  Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.


Preheat the oven to 425˚ F.  Lightly oil a baking sheet with cooking spray.  Place the sealed egg rolls on the baking sheet seam side down and spray the tops of the egg rolls with cooking spray.  Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly brown, turning halfway through baking.  Serve warm with salsa. ( I used mango salsa)

Tomato Feta Salad

In honor our of friend, Chase, visiting we decided to have a BBQ at our house with our friends. I wanted to try out some new recipes from cookbooks that I had almost forgotten about! The Internet makes it too easy to search and discover new recipes and leaves your cookbooks feeling neglected and full of dust on your bookshelf. I decided to take a look through cookbooks that I had today and find some good recipes to try out, this is one of them. It is from the Barefoot Contessa Home Cookbook that I received one year for Christmas from my friend Joe, thanks Joe! I plan to make the macaroni and cheese sometime soon in honor of you. :) The only mistake I made was getting to anxious to mix everything together and forgetting about folding in the feta cheese. It still tasted great, but I failed in presentation. This is a light salad that would be good anytime, don't judge this recipe by my picture. Enjoy!

Tomato Feta Salad
Recipe Compliments of Barefoot Contessa Home Cookbook

Ingredients

• 4 pints grape tomatoes, red or mixed colors
• 1 1/2 cups small-diced red onion (2 onions)
• 1/4 cup good white wine vinegar
• 6 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1 1/2 pounds feta cheese

Directions

Cut the tomatoes in half and place them in a large bowl. Add the onion, vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, basil, and parsley and toss well. Dice the feta in 1/2 to 3/4-inch cubes, crumbling it as little as possible. Gently fold it into the salad and serve at room temperature.