Mexican Macaroni Salad

I am on a serious pasta salad kick lately! Do they have a 12 step program for that? If so, I need to find myself a meeting. At least I've admitted my problem,  that's the first step, I think. Anyways, back to the pasta... This is a recipe from the Pioneer Woman that I changed very slightly and absolutely love! It's  fun and colorful too!

For the salad:
1 lb pasta cooked, drained and cooled (I prefer large macaroni noodles)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
4 Roma tomatoes,  diced
1/2 cup chopped olives (I use more )
3-4 green onions,  thinly sliced
Cilantro, about 1/3 cup chopped

For the dressing:
1 cup chunky salsa (feel free to make it spicy )
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayo
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 tsp cumin

Prep your ingredients  (that's the hardest part). Toss your salad ingredients together. Mix your dressing ingredients together. Pour the dressing over the pasta and toss to combine. Chill for at least an hour before serving.

Enjoy!

Mac and Cheese Salad

Fred Meyer sells this fantastic salad in their deli called mac and cheese salad. They don't have it in their deli case very often but when they do,  I'm in heaven! I thought I'd make an attempt at recreating it at home and I hit the nail on the head, first try!!

1 lb cavatappi pasta, cooked and drained and rinsed with cold water
1 very large handful of spinach leaves  (about 1/4-1/3 of  a 10oz bag), chopped into large pieces
3 green onions,  thinly sliced
2/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled

3/4 cup of mayo
3/4 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
Salt and pepper to taste

Toss your cooked,  cooled pasta with the spinach, onions and feta. Mix the mayo, sour cream, lemon juice, garlic and salt and pepper. Add that to the other ingredients and toss to coat. Chill for at least one hour before serving.

Enjoy!

Fried Rice

I love fried rice! I make it at home occasionally but I always use a seasoning packet for the flavor in my rice. Well, I went on a mission the other day to find a few fried rice recipes online and adapt them to make my own. I'd say my mission was successful! You could add pork, chicken or shrimp to this to suit your fancy but it really does rock all on it's own! Do not skip any of the ingredients, please... seriously.  Okay , maybe the green onion or swap some veggies out but don't mess with the butter, sauces or oil!

2 cups of uncooked rice (prepare then chill)
4 eggs scrambled (I just do mine in a bowl in the microwave and then chop them up a bit)
2 cups veggies (I like to use frozen peas,  carrots, and edamame)
3 cloves minced garlic
3-4 them sliced green onions
3 tablespoons of butter (this is the secret to good fried rice)
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
4 tablespoons of soy sauce (more to taste)
3/4 teaspoon sesame oil
Salt and pepper

Heat your large pan up, just a bit higher than medium heat. Make sure it is completely hot. Add 1 tablespoon of butter. In the melted butter, saute your vegetables for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté another minute or so. Remove vegetable and place aside. Give your pan another few minutes to hear back up again. Melt the last 2 tablespoons of butter. Add cold rice, oyster sauce,  soy sauce, salt and pepper. Stir well and let rice brown slightly (hence the "fried " in the title). After it's done browning slightly (5 minutes or so) add egg, vegetables,  sliced green onion and sesame oil. Mix well and serve!!!

To make chicken fried rice, dice 2 chicken breasts up and marinate in a little sesame oil and soy sauce. Cook and add to the rice.

Enjoy!

Sonoma Salad

I had this years ago at my best friends baby shower. I went to costco today on a mission to find it to pack for game night at the field. Well, I had no luck finding it.  So,  I scoured the Internet trying to find a similar  recipe and couldn't settle on one. I took a little from each and came up with this!

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts boiled and chopped
1 cup grapes, chopped
1 cup craisins (dried cranberries )
3-4 stalks of celery, chopped
3/4 cup chopped pecans

1 cup mayo
5 teaspoons honey
4 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Mix the top set of ingredients in a bowl (note: after I chopped my chicken into small pieces I squished them up a bit to make them less uniform in shape and more suitable for chicken salad). In a small bowl,  mix the ingredients for the dressing. Pour this over the chicken mixture and mix well. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  Serve on a croissant or in a lettuce wrap!

Cheesy Pesto Spaghetti Squash

I have never made or had spaghetti  squash before and after a friend posted her spaghetti squash meal I had to try some!  I took what  she did and added pesto and baked it in a casserole dish rather than back in the squash skin. It was delicious! A piece of advice,  warn people  it's  not real noodles or they won't  like it, if they're  expecting real pasta,  it just won't  be the same!

2 medium-small spaghetti squash
2 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese
2 tablespoons butter melted
2 tablespoons pesto sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1.5 cups small chopped broccoli
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
Salt and pepper  to taste

I cooked my spaghetti squash whole. 375 for 1 hour 15 minutes. After it was done, I cut in half  and let cool. I then scooped the seeds out and shredded the squash with a fork. I used only 3 out of the 4 halves and saved the last half for leftovers. Place that into a 9x13 pan.

Dice your chicken into small pieces and saute in olive oil with the garlic.  When it's  nearly done, add the broccoli and 2 tablespoons of water. Cover with lid and cook until broccoli is tender, stiring it a couple of times. When it's  done, add that to the squash.

In a small bowl,  place butter and pesto  and heat until butter is melted. Pour it over the squash and chicken mix. Then add your cheese and salt and pepper and mix well. Bake for 15-20 minutes on 350 until cheese is thoroughly melted.

Enjoy!!!

Cilantro Lime Shrimp

I've  seen various recipes for this before but was always hesitant to mess with the way I like my shrimp. I'm  so glad I decided  to step  out of my shrimp comfort zone! I had this over salad topped with an avacado dressing  but I'm  also snacking on the leftover shrimp all by themselves! I highly  recommend serving these cold!

1 pound of peeled,  cooked shrimp
3 tablespoons of lime juice (or the juice of one lime)
2 teaspoons  olive oil
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon  garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

In a jar, combine lime juice, oil, cymin, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Shake vigorously. Pour over shrimp, top with  cilantro and mix well. Let chill in the fridge for awhile  before serving. This gets  better the longer  it  marinates! Enjoy!

Edamame Quinoa Salad

So, I tried an Edamame Quinoa Salad from the deli the other day and it was awesome! I was determined to come home and find a recipe to replicate it. I searched online and found something fairly similar.  I made a few changes and came up with this, it's delicious!!! I can't wait for warmer weather and fun summery salads every day!

Ingredients:
3 cups frozen, shelled edamame
2 cups frozen white corn
1 red pepper
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
6 chopped green onions
1 can black beans drained and rinsed
1 cup cooked quinoa (1/3 uncooked) cooled

Dressing
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
3 cloves minced garlic

Put your frozen corn and edamame in a strainer,  dump the black beans in and rinse for about 2 minutes with luke warm water (this will defrost the corn and edamame). Toss edamame, corn, beans, pepper, quinoa, cilantro and onions in a bowl. In a small jar (I like to use my magic bullet with the lid) combine all dressing ingredients and shake like crazy. Pour over the salad ingredients, mix and let chill. Enjoy!