CREAMY PASTA SALAD

I tried a new pasta salad recipe for Memorial Day, and was nervous that it wouldn't be good. It was delicious & everyone said they liked it better than the way we used to make it. Yay! This is the way I'm going to make it from now on. (Sorry for the bad pic - I forgot to take a picture of it and this is the leftovers 2 days later. hahaha)

Ingredients:

1 lb pasta, cooked
1-2 heads broccoli, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped (I didn't have any, so I skipped it)
1 can sliced olives
1 c shredded cheese (I used 1/2 c mozzarella, 1/2 c shredded parmesan - way good!)

Dressing:

2 envelopes dry Italian dressing mix
6 TBS apple cider vinegar
4 1/2 TBS water
1/2 c olive oil

1/2 c ranch dressing (This is the best part that brings it all together)

Directions:

Combine cooked pasta and vegetables in large bowl. Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over pasta & vegetables. Add ranch dressing and cheese. Fold together.

Refrigerate 1 hour before serving.

LIMEADE

We had this the other night - it didn't have enough raspberry flavor, so I think I'll try doing a cherry next time with grenadine. It was really good, though.

1 (12 oz) can frozen limeade concentrate
1 (2 ltr) bottle Sprite

That's it! Crazy, huh? You can just add the raspberries for garnish if you want. If you want it like Red Robin, just add a bit of cherry grenadine into the bottom of each glass and then pour the limeade into it. Or you can pour the juice of 1 10oz jar of maraschino cherries into the entire thing.

BEST CHICKEN MARINADE EVER!

This is seriously the best chicken marinade - EVER!
It's the same marinade for the Beach Street Lemon Chicken Linguini I posted a while ago, but we use just the marinade ALL the time and we get lots of compliments on it. Anyway, since it's summer and time for grilling (yay!) I thought I would re-post it.

1/2 c olive oil (or canola)
1 clove garlic, whole
2 TBS Cajun seasoning
2 TBS minced parsley
1 TBS brown sugar
2 TBS lemon juice
1 TBS soy sauce

Mix together and pour over chicken in a Ziploc bag. Soooo good!

CAJUN CHICKEN AND PASTA

I made this last night because I needed something I could make quick and didn't have time to marinate anything. It was delicious! The little kids just ate the pasta plain, but the rest of us ate it with the chicken. Either way - quick, easy and lots of flavor. :)

Boneless/skinless chicken breasts (I used 4)
Cajun seasoning
16 oz pasta (any kind)
1 can (14oz) diced tomatoes
1 tsp dried basil (3 TBS fresh)
1 tsp sugar
2/3 c cream
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese

Sprinkle Cajun seasoning over chicken breasts and throw on the grill. You can rub it in, but sprinkling was fine, too.

Cook pasta, drain and keep warm.

Pour tomatoes into a small sauce pan and add basil and sugar. (If you are using fresh basil, stir in at the end.) I also blended my tomatoes up a little because we don't like big chunks. Cook over medium-high heat until thickened, about 10 minutes.
Reduce heat and stir in cream. Heat through but DO NOT BOIL!

Toss with pasta and Parmesan cheese.

Serve with chicken and garnish with Parmesan cheese.

(My chicken was frozen when I started - I just put in a plastic bag in cold water for a couple minutes. Just enough so the seasoning would stick. I cooked my pasta and tomatoes at the same time while the chicken was on the grill, and I had dinner ready about 1/2 hour. Seriously.)

Father's Day Spice Rub

I found this great spice rub in a Lowe's Creative Ideas magazine. This rub is great on beef, poultry, fish and vegetables.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp paprika
2 Tbsp dried parsley
4 tsp ground hot chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp cracked black pepper

glass jar with lid
ribbon, string or raffia
gift tag

Combine in a clean jar with a lid. Tie with ribbon/raffia and make a cute tag and give it to Dad for father's day.

Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

Another great Bunko recipe. This one from my friend Erin!

Ingredients:

3 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 (8 oz) carton sour cream
1 Tbsp poppy seeds
1 1/2 cups crushed Ritz crackers (about 40)
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

Directions:

Combine chicken, soup, sour cream and poppy seeds into a greased 11x7 in baking dish. In separate bowl combine Ritz crackers and butter. Sprinkle over chicken mixture. Bake uncovered at 350* for 30 min.

California Wild Rice Chicken Salad

This is sooo good, really hearty, very easy and fast. My friend Margaret made this for our Bunko group!

Ingredients:

Salad:
1 box long grain and wild rice, cooked with seasonings
2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded or chopped to your liking
4 green onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 medium avocados, diced
1 cup chopped almonds, pecans or toasted peanuts

Dressing:
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Directions:
Mix dressing ingredients in a blender. Chill for 1 hour. (The dressing makes double what you need for the recipe provided.) So keep the other half in the fridge for any green salad or double this recipe.

Toss all ingredients together with dressing. May be served cold or at room temperature.