Pesto Tortellinni Salad with Tomatoes and Artichokes

So The Hubs has been out of town for a few days now so I thought I would indulge in some much needed girl food!  At least thats what he would call it.  The fact that its a pasta dish that is quite healthy, falls under the category "Girl Food" in his book.  So I take every opportunity that I have to cook something light and fresh and eat it for lunch and dinner and maybe a snack inbetween. 

And can I just say this dish is just that! With fresh cherry tomatoes, marinated artichoke hearts, fresh mozzarella, and delicious cheese stuffed tortellini tossed in Pesto. You really can't go wrong here.  This is a great Pasta Salad for parties or get togethers also.

Recipe:

1 (12oz) bag frozen tortellini

1 (10oz) carton of cherry tomatoes

1 (6.5oz) jar of marinated artichoke hearts

1 (6.5oz)store-bought jar Pesto with Basil  (or you can use homemade Pesto)

6 oz of fresh mozzarella (cubed)

Cook the tortellini as directed on package.  Drain the pasta and let cool for about 5-10 minutes.  Next, dice the marinated artichoke hearts and fresh mozzarella into bite sized pieces.  In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and toss till everything is well coated with Pesto.  Store this dish in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days.  

Santa Fe Chicken Salad w/a Black Bean Corn Relish

I just love salads.  Really, it's just as simple as that.  There is just something about a bowl of fresh crisp greens, topped with all different types of veggies or fruit, and your choice of dressing, that just screams delicious to me.  Really, the skies are the limits when it comes to salads.  There are so many different flavors and styles of salads that its hard to get sick of them.  We had this Santa Fe salad the other night, and even The Hubs, who isn't that big on salads, requested seconds.  That's when you know you did good :)

Recipe:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 Tbsp. Taco seasoning (I used McCormicks)

1 head of Romaine Lettuce (washed and chopped)

1 head of Iceberg Lettuce (washed and chopped)

1 Red Bell Pepper (diced)

1/4 cup Cilantro (chopped fine)

2 green onions (chopped)

1/2 cup Cherry Tomatoes

1/2 cup Tortilla strips (I just used store bought ones) 

Fiesta Ranch Dressing

For the Black Bean Relish:

1 (14oz) can Black Beans (rinsed and drained)

1 (8oz) can Corn (drained) 

3 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar

1-2 green onions (diced)

Season chicken breasts with taco seasoning and bake for 25-30 minutes.  While chicken is baking, wash and chop up all the vegetables.  Place in a large bowl.  

For the relish, rinse and drain the beans and corn.  Combine the two in a small saucepan along with the balsamic vinegar.  Heat all the way through.  When done heating (about 4-5 minutes) toss with the 2 green onions.  Let cool.  Place on top of the bed of Lettuce and Veggies.

When the chicken is done cooking, dice into bite sized pieces and place on the salad and top with tortilla strips. Give it all a good toss and drizzle with Fiesta Ranch or your choice of dressing and Enjoy!

Pasta Salad

This pasta salad is perfect for summertime and for the upcoming holiday festivities of the 4th of July.  We made this salad yesterday for a BBQ we had at the pool, in *100 + degree weather and it held up perfectly! We served this with salmon and burgers but I think it would go perfect with anything really.

Recipe:

1 pound Rotini Noodles

1 small head broccoli (stemmed and washed)

1 cup cherry tomatoes

1 green bell pepper (diced)

1 (8oz) fresh mozzarella (cubed)

1 (4oz) jar marinated artichoke hearts (diced)

1-1/2 cup Zesty Italian Dressing

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the noodles for 9 minutes.  Drain and rinse the pasta with cold water.  Dice the bell pepper, mozzarella, tomatoes, and artichoke hearts and place in a large bowl along with the cooked noodles.  Blanch the broccoli and add it to the pasta mixture. (blanching for those of you who aren't familiar with the term means to steam the broccoli for just a few minutes then quickly place it into ice cold water) Pour the dressing over the top and toss till well incorporated.  Enjoy!

"My Favorite" Chicken Salad Sandwiches

So far since my mom has been here we haven't done much cooking.  We took the little one to the park to play in the water fountains, and have visited a few of my very favorite stores. Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn.  Look how cute this Mason Jar Drink Dispenser is that my mom bought from Pottery Barn.

So Cute, Right?!!!!  Anyhow, I did however make up some of my ALL TIME favorite chicken salad sandwiches. Even though they have Mayo in them, I think that they are a perfect summertime meal too.  

Recipe:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (diced)

1/2 cup mayonaise

1/8-1/4 cup heavy cream

2 green onions (diced, white and green parts)

1 cup red seedless grapes (sliced in half)

1/4 cup slivered almonds

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

(I seasoned the chicken breasts with lemon pepper before baking. Adds a great flavor to the sandwich)

12 mini croissants or 6 large ones

Preheat the oven to *375.  Season the defrosted chicken well with lemon pepper.  Bake for 30-35 minutes or till no longer pink. Dice into bite sized pieces.  In a large bowl, mix together the salt, pepper, mayo, heavy cream, grapes, green onions, and almonds.  Mix in the diced chicken and stir till well combined.  Scoop a couple of Tbsp. of chicken salad onto a sliced croissant. You can also top with lettuce and tomato.

(recipe source: Me)

Balsamic Chicken Pasta Salad + A Guest Post over @ The Country Cook

This pasta was so light and so delicious that I am thinking about going back for thirds right now! Yes, you heard it, I said thirds :) Not seconds, THIRDS! :)  

I came up with this dish while I was at Costco, shopping around, buying way more than I needed to.  What is it about Costco? I mean I really can't go in there and NOT spend under $100!  Do any of you have that same problem. I mean I went there on the intentions of only buying diapers and I came out with, diapers, wipes, water, raspberries, hummus, pajamas for the little one, salad, milk, some cheese, a huge thing of balsamic vinegar, a rotisserie chicken (those things are deadly good!), some ribs for fathers day, fruit snacks, crackers, cherry tomatoes, and last but DEFINITELY not least, 2 loaves of rosemary bread! So much for only buying diapers Ha... 

Anyways, I was on a major Italian kick and that's when this pasta popped into my mind.  Lets just say that I am glad it was so good cause when you buy most of the ingredients from costco, you are bound to have one Large dish!

Also, check out my Guest Post over @ The Country Cook today!  I feel so blessed and lucky to be a guest post twice this week and on 2 of my favorite and AMAZING blogs. Brandie is one of the sweetest people that I have met through this whole blogging process and I KNOW FOR A FACT, that any of you out there that know her, would definitely agree with me!  Check it out and check out Brandie's awesome blog! She is the one to thank for these amazing Pork Chops in/a Creamy Gravy that I have on my blog! Thanks again Brandie, I had a blast :)

Recipe:

2 cups Shredded Chicken (I used a rotisserie chicken, made it that much easier to throw together)

1 lb. Penne Noodles (this is all I had on hand, you could use Linguine, bowtie, spiral, etc.)

1 cup of cherry tomatoes (chopped)

8 oz. Fresh Mozzarella (diced into cubes)

2 large Garlic Cloves (minced)

3 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar

6 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1 cup of fresh Basil (chopped)

1/2 tsp. of Salt 

1/2 tsp. pepper

Cook the noodles as desired on package.  While the noodles are cooking, shred the chicken into bite sized pieces, dice up the tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese and place all these ingredients into a large bowl and set aside.  

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Slowly mix in the oil. Chop up the fresh basil and pour 1/2 cup of it into the sauce. Whisk for 1 minute.

When the noodles are done cooking, drain, and place them into the bowl with the chicken.  Add in the remaining basil and pour the dressing over the noodle/chicken mixture and toss till everything is well combined.  Serve with a slice of warm bread. (Costco's Rosemary Bread goes great with this dish!)

Chinese Chicken Salad

This salad is so light and refreshing.  It was so light and refreshing that I ate the whole thing! (now hows that for LIGHT and REFRESHING! (insert sarcasm...)) Wow, I just said light and refreshing a lot. Sorry about that.  

Back to the salad. This dish is a cinch to throw together.  It's great for lunch, or if your like me you will eat it for lunch, dinner that night, and lunch the next day.  I will be honest, my husband didn't like this dish, but that's only because he doesn't care for salads, and since we're being honest, I made this salad knowing that I would eat the whole thing.  Is that kind of sad? Its a salad so that's okay right? I mean, it's not like I had just eaten a whole batch of candy bar cookies or anything...(recipe to come later) 

Recipe:

For the Salad:

1 bag of Coleslaw salad mix (you can buy this in your pre-packaged salad section. NO sauce on it just the cut up cabbage)

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cooked and shredded)

pinch of lemon pepper

1/4 cup slivered almonds

2 green onions (diced, white and green part)

1 package of Oriental Ramen Noodles (uncooked, save the seasoning for the dressing)

2 Tbsp. Sesame Seeds

For the Dressing:

1 Tbsp. sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3 Tbsp. white vinegar

1 Oriental Ramen seasoning packet

Cook the chicken then shred. (I usually just boil frozen breasts for about 25-30 minutes, then I shred it.) When the chicken is shredded I then sprinkle it lightly with lemon pepper seasoning.  (if you bake the chicken then I would just season the chicken before you bake it then shred it)

Next, just toss all of the ingredients for the salad into one large bowl. Toss so all the ingredients are well incorporated.  Next, just whisk all the ingredients together for the dressing then drizzle over the salad and toss.  Refridgerate the salad till you are ready to eat it.  This salad will last in the fridge for 24-36 hours. 

(recipe source: my lovely mom)

Chicken Caesar Bowtie Salad

I feel like when I think of a salad I think of a side dish to a main course. However, this salad we eat as our main course quite often and we feel full and satisfied as though we ate a big meal.  We actually eat this salad with all different types of dressing to. (It doesn't have to be caesar if you don't want it to be)

Recipe:
1 head of Romaine lettuce (Rinsed and chopped)
1/2 of a 1 lb. package of bowtie noodles
1 cucumber (diced into 4ths)(Optional)
1 Tomato (chopped) (Optional)
2 Chicken Breasts
Lemon Pepper for seasoning
Caesar Dressing (or dressing of choice)

Season chicken breasts with lemon pepper and bake @ *375 for 25-30 minutes. Slice into thin strips. Meanwhile, while chicken is cooking, cook noodles as directed on package. Drain and rinse in cold water. Rinse lettuce well and dry. Chop lettuce, cucumber, and tomato. Assemble all ingredients together in a large bowl. Top with seasoned croutons and dressing of choice.