Garden Pasta Salad

HOT this week. Icky, humid hotness. The kind of hot that makes me want to bar the doors and pretend "outside" doesn't exist for awhile. Try telling that to a 20 month old.

If you know me, you know I don't do hot well. Even making our way to the pool is challenging this week. Is it bad that I'm crabby 5 minutes into the mission?

Picture me laden like a pack mule and herding three arguing children across steaming, black asphalt. Oh, and we're hurrying too. For some unknown reason, there are exactly 6 chairs in the shade for the 8,000 people who will show up on hot summer days. If you aren't first in line when the pool opens, you're frying all afternoon. After everyone is slathered with sun screen and goggles are adjusted, I have about 9 (sweaty) minutes of peace until they wander back wondering what I brought to eat.

And the cycle continues for about 5 hours...until we have to go home cause we ran out of snacks.

Needless to say, I don't feel like cooking when we get home. So ideally I have something like this already prepped in the fridge. It's light and refreshing, not to mention delicious. AND has enough vegetables to cancel out the "fruit snack frenzy" of 3:00 that afternoon. Don't be afraid of the mayo...the yogurt totally cuts the heaviness of it. Black olives will work in a pinch, but the kalamata ones are so worth the extra cost. The veggies in the recipe are a place to start. I often use whatever I have on hand.

Enjoy. And stay cool.

~Erin

Garden Pasta Salad

Author: Erin (adapted from eatingwell.com)

Prep time: 15 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• Dressing


• 1/3 c. mayonnaise


• 1/3 c. plain yogurt


• 2 T. extra-virgin olive oil


• 1 T. red-wine vinegar, or lemon juice


• 1 clove garlic, minced


• 1/8 tsp. salt


• Ground pepper, to taste


• Salad


• 2 c. cooked rotini noodles


• 1 c. cherry or grape tomatoes, halved


• 1 c. diced (any color) bell pepper


• 1 c. grated carrots


• 1/2 c. chopped scallions


• 1/2 c. chopped kalamata olives


• 1/3 c. slivered fresh basil

Instructions

1. Whisk together dressing ingredients.


2. Toss cooked pasta, vegetables, and dressing together.


3. Serve, or cover and refrigerate.

3.2.1251

 

Avocado White Bean Wraps

Anything better then a summer meal you can make ahead? AND not turn on the oven or stove? Big winner right here.

Oh, wait.....it's vegetarian too! And has more has fiber then you'll know what to do with.

Not convinced yet?

They taste awesome. Plus, I'm a fan of any recipe that turns simple, super healthy ingredients into something absolutely craveable. I found these on eatingwell.com a few years ago and they've quickly become a favorite of family and friends. The chilies in adobo sauce has smoky flavor and is quite spicy. Keep this in mind and adjust quantities to suit your tastes. The recipe calls for only a small portion of what comes in the can. I recommend freezing the remaining chilies to make more wraps down the road, or this salad. It's also one of those ingredients that I can't always find at every grocery store, so will often buy 2 or 3 to have on hand. You'll thank me for the tip. Enjoy!

~Erin

Avocado White Bean Wraps

Author: Erin (adapted from eatingwell.com)

Prep time: 20 mins

Total time: 20 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 T. cider vinegar


• 1 T. canola oil


• 2 tsp. canned chipotle chili in adobo sauce, finely chopped


• 1/4 tsp. salt


• 2 c. shredded red cabbage


• 1 medium carrot, shredded


• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro


• 1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed


• 1 avocado


• 1/2 c. sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded


• 2 T. minced red onion


• 4 wraps or tortillas

Instructions

1. For dressing, whisk together cider vinegar, canola oil, chipotle chili, and salt.


2. Toss red cabbage, carrot, and cilantro in dressing.


3. Mash together beans, avocado, cheese, and onion.


4. Assemble wraps with a thick spread of avocado mixture and cabbage. Serve.

Notes

If you are bothered by browned avocado and wanting to prepare these ahead of time, mash avocado into beans, cheese, and onion right before serving. Chipotle chilies in adobo sauce is found in a very tiny can in the International food aisle.

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Caponata

I have great memories of visiting my extended family in south Louisiana. I realize it sounds like I no longer have the opportunity, and my Aunt Liz assures me this is not the case. She has said the kids and I are welcome anytime...but there's the whole "traveling with 3 under age 7" that exhausts me. Taking kids on vacation = a whole lot of work.

It used to be that visiting New Iberia, LA meant breakfast in bed, complete with a flower on the tray. I do believe that ship has sailed...for now at least. I'll go back when the kids are older, perhaps even leaving them at home with Dad. Now there's an idea! I'm telling you, there is no better place to relax and recharge. Especially with the kind of food I have come to expect from Aunt Liz's kitchen and Louisiana in general.

My aunt's recipe for caponata makes an amazing, sweet-and-sour vegetarian appetizer to serve with good crackers. It comes from Franklin, Louisiana and St. Mary's Episcopal church's cook book, A Cook's Tour of the Bayou Country, courtesy of Mrs. Maunette Risher. This recipe makes a lot, and the good news is it freezes beautifully. Makes a great appetizer to have on hand for last minute company. Caponata is also delicious on fish or chicken so plan to use it that way too. Enjoy!

~Erin

Caponata

 

Author: Erin

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 50 mins

Serves: Lots!

Ingredients

• 2 large eggplants


• 2 onions


• 2 bell peppers


• 3 stalks celery


• 1 can tomato sauce


• 1 can tomato paste


• 5 gloves garlic


• 1 1/2 c. olive oil


• 1 c. red wine vinegar


• 1/3 c. sugar


• oregano


• salt


• pepper


• 1 jar salad olives

Instructions

1. Steam and chop peeled eggplant.


2. Saute onions, bell pepper, celery, and garlic in olive oil until soft.


3. Add eggplant, spices, tomato sauce, tomato paste, vinegar, and sugar. Blend well and cook for about 30 minutes.


4. Remove from heat, add olives, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

 

Notes

This recipe makes quite a bit. But good news is that it freezes wonderfully. Awesome to keep on hand for company.

3.2.1230

Hearty Tomato Soup

I mentioned a few weeks ago how I will occasionally get sounds of delight from my two guys when they like a meal (and I don't mean girly squeals, these are manly, gutteral, animalistic sounds -- even from my 7-year-old). Soup is pretty much always a guaranteed grunt fest for them. Yes, soup. So I have quite a few go-to, easy peasy soup recipes that I use A LOT in the winter. One of their favorites is tomato bisque (that I would always just make from the can) so when I saw this recipe in my good ol' Betty Crocker cookbook, I knew I had to try it. I'm a huge fan of  "doctored up" recipes and they are my go-to for soups and cakes (hey, when you're spending upwards of 10 hours on baking and decorating a cake, every little bit helps!) and this one did not disappoint. Add a grilled cheese and it's perfect for this dreary day here in Chicagoland!
~Leah

Hearty Tomato Soup 1

Recipe Type: Soup

Author: Leah (adapted from Betty Crocker)

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 25 mins

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. butter


• 1 large onion, finely chopped


• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped


• 1/2 tsp. paprika


• 1 1/2 t. chopped fresh or 1/2 tsp. dried basil


• 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened


• 1 1/4 c. milk


• 2 cans (10 3/4 oz each) condensed tomato soup


• 2 cans (14 1/2 oz each) diced tomatoes

Instructions

1. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion and garlic in butter until onion is tender. Remove from heat.


2. Stir in paprika, basil and cream cheese. Gradually stir in milk and soup. Beat with hand beater or whisk until cheese is melted and soup is smooth. (I had to put mine back over low heat to get my cheese to melt. See notes below).


3. Stir in tomatoes and heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until hot.

Notes

Make sure your cream cheese is room temp...you could even microwave it a bit to get it really soft. The original recipe called for 6 oz. of cream cheese but I just threw the entire bar in. I could NOT get all of the cheese bits to disappear completely, but it didn't give it any weird type of consistency when eating it. Also, I pureed it for my kiddos since they don't like chunks and they loved it.

3.1.09