My mom has made this salad on several occasions and I LOVE it! She actually found it in an issue of Better Homes and Gardens. Now is the season for yummy salads!!
Prep time: 40 minutes Chill: at least 2 hours
Ingredients:
12 oz. dried mostaccioli or penne (about 4 cups uncooked)
2 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 medium cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced
4 green onions, sliced
1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tblsps snipped fresh basil or 2 tsp dried basil, crushed
2 tblsps snipped fresh oregano or 2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1 tblsp anchovy paste (optional)
4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup crumbled feta cheese (4 oz.)
Fresh oregano leaves
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain in a colander. Rinse with cold water; drain again.
In a large bowl, toss together the cooked pasta, tomatoes, cucumber, green onions, and olives
In a screw-top jar combine the olive oil, lemon juice, basil, the 2 tblsps oregano, anchovy paste (if using), garlic, salt and pepper. Cover and shake well. Drizzle over pasta mixture; toss to coat.
Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours. To serve, add feta cheese; toss. Sprinkle fresh oregano leaves.
Makes 12-16 side-dish servings
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Caribbean Chicken Skewers
So, I made this recipe up after my fabulous meal on the movie set I was on. I have only made it once, but it turned out wonderful. I probably should try to make it again to make sure it wasn't a fluke, but I'll post it anyway. As a warning I didn't really measure anything, so here are the approximations of what I did.
Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut into big cubes)
(Marinade ingredients)
2 ataulfo mangoes (otherwise known as Manila mangoes...the yellow ones) mashed
3-4 tblsps of pineapple apricot preserves (you can find it at Walmart)
2-3 teaspoons of minced garlic
1/4 of a lemon (juiced)
2-3 splashes of soy sauce
1-2 splashes of olive oil
2 dashes of red pepper flakes
about 5 parsley leaves, chopped
1 sprig of rosemary (leaves chopped)
Mix the marinade ingredients together well. If its too thick, add a little more soy sauce and oil. If its too thin, add a little more of the preserves and/or another mango.
Season the chicken with some salt and pepper. Put into a gallon zip lock bag. Pour the marinade in and seal the bag. Work everything in together. Put it into the refridgerator and let marinade for at least 2 hours.
Meanwhile, you can chop up some vegetables to add to the skewers. I found the best combination is red bell pepper, red onion, and pineapple.
Once the chicken is done marinading, alternate the chicken onto the skewers with the vegetables and pineapple. Pour the remaining marinade over the skewered chicken and vegetables.
Note: I cut up a fresh pineapple to use on the skewers but canned will work too. With a fresh pineapple I did about 2 pieces per skewer and I still had plenty leftover to double the recipe if you want. The pattern that I did was 1 piece of pineapple, 1 piece of chicken, 2 pieces of onion, 2 pieces of chicken, 2 pieces of red bell pepper, 2 pieces of chicken, 2 pieces of onion, 1 piece of chicken, and 1 piece of pineapple. It grilled up nicely together and the flavor was delicious! Enjoy!
Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut into big cubes)
(Marinade ingredients)
2 ataulfo mangoes (otherwise known as Manila mangoes...the yellow ones) mashed
3-4 tblsps of pineapple apricot preserves (you can find it at Walmart)
2-3 teaspoons of minced garlic
1/4 of a lemon (juiced)
2-3 splashes of soy sauce
1-2 splashes of olive oil
2 dashes of red pepper flakes
about 5 parsley leaves, chopped
1 sprig of rosemary (leaves chopped)
Mix the marinade ingredients together well. If its too thick, add a little more soy sauce and oil. If its too thin, add a little more of the preserves and/or another mango.
Season the chicken with some salt and pepper. Put into a gallon zip lock bag. Pour the marinade in and seal the bag. Work everything in together. Put it into the refridgerator and let marinade for at least 2 hours.
Meanwhile, you can chop up some vegetables to add to the skewers. I found the best combination is red bell pepper, red onion, and pineapple.
Once the chicken is done marinading, alternate the chicken onto the skewers with the vegetables and pineapple. Pour the remaining marinade over the skewered chicken and vegetables.
Note: I cut up a fresh pineapple to use on the skewers but canned will work too. With a fresh pineapple I did about 2 pieces per skewer and I still had plenty leftover to double the recipe if you want. The pattern that I did was 1 piece of pineapple, 1 piece of chicken, 2 pieces of onion, 2 pieces of chicken, 2 pieces of red bell pepper, 2 pieces of chicken, 2 pieces of onion, 1 piece of chicken, and 1 piece of pineapple. It grilled up nicely together and the flavor was delicious! Enjoy!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Maybe I'm going a little crazy with this blogging thing! :)
Claire and I were talking about recipes today... and I thought wouldn't it be fun to have a blog where we were all "owners" and could all write on it and share good recipes or fun kitchen tips and ideas. This way we will all be able to share and we'll all end up with a plethora of dinner ideas ALL the time! :) Just thought it might be fun...
To get the ball rolling I'll post one that has become one of our favorites. My boss gave me this recipe and I fell instantly in love with it. Just emailed it to Claire today! :)
Mexican Lasagna
1 lb. ground turkey (not lean)
1 large onion (chopped)
1 large bell pepper (chopped)
1-2 tbsp. crushed garlic
olive oil
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 can Mexican-style diced tomatoes
2 cans tomato soup
1 bag of Kraft shredded Mexican cheeses (4 cheese blend)
4 large tortillas
Use a very large skillet. Cover the bottom with olive oil. Sauté the onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Then add the meat until it browns.
Next add the taco seasoning mix, then the rest of the ingredients except the cheese and tortillas. Let simmer about 15 minutes.
Now layer a 9x13 or 10x14 glass pan with first a layer of the sauce, then two of the tortillas, then sauce, then cheese, then the other two tortillas, then sauce, then cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Enjoy!
**Note: I use ground beef and it's just as tasty! Hope you guys like this one!
To get the ball rolling I'll post one that has become one of our favorites. My boss gave me this recipe and I fell instantly in love with it. Just emailed it to Claire today! :)
Mexican Lasagna
1 lb. ground turkey (not lean)
1 large onion (chopped)
1 large bell pepper (chopped)
1-2 tbsp. crushed garlic
olive oil
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 can Mexican-style diced tomatoes
2 cans tomato soup
1 bag of Kraft shredded Mexican cheeses (4 cheese blend)
4 large tortillas
Use a very large skillet. Cover the bottom with olive oil. Sauté the onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Then add the meat until it browns.
Next add the taco seasoning mix, then the rest of the ingredients except the cheese and tortillas. Let simmer about 15 minutes.
Now layer a 9x13 or 10x14 glass pan with first a layer of the sauce, then two of the tortillas, then sauce, then cheese, then the other two tortillas, then sauce, then cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Enjoy!
**Note: I use ground beef and it's just as tasty! Hope you guys like this one!
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