Showing posts with label pasta salad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pasta salad. Show all posts

Sunday, June 24, 2018

Southwestern "Cactus Needle" Pasta Salad / #CookoutWeek

Welcome to #CookoutWeek!
This is the beginning of a fun week full of recipes for cookouts and summer meals. Read all about it below, and don't forget to enter the giveaway! It is huge! Good Luck!

But first, I want to share with you a salad I love to make and enjoy in the summer when it is hot. This salad is cool and refreshing and it is a great dish for serving a group of family and friends!
I call this dish Southwestern "Cactus Needle" Pasta Salad, not because I used cactus needles, of course, but because I made this salad with little tiny pieces of pasta called "Fideo", and they remind me of cactus needles. This pasta salad also includes little chunks of Chayote, which is a mexican squash, veggies such as tomatoes, onions, and roasted corn, and a homemade dressing that brings all these flavors together perfectly! This salad goes well with any entree, from a delicious steak to a tasty grilled hot dog! 
Southwestern Cactus Needle Pasta Salad
(printable recipe at end of page)


3 1/2 ounces Fideo Pasta (1/2 of a bag)
1 medium sized Chayote
1 red and 1 orange Mini Pepper
1 large Green Onion
1/2 cup Roasted Corn
15 Cherry Tomatoes
1/3 cup cooked Black Beans
1 Avocado
5 ounces Queso Fresco

Dressing
2 tablespoon Mayonnaise
2 tablespoon Sour Cream
1/4 cup Minced Garlic
pinch of Chipotle Chili Powder
1/4 Lime


Boil the pasta according to package directions. It should boil for approx. 7 minutes. Let cool completely.
This is what a Chayote looks like. This one is rather large, and a smaller one would be acceptable for this recipe. Place the Chayote in a pan covered with water. Turn heat to medium high. If it boils, that is fine. A Chayote this large takes about 20-25 minutes to soften. A smaller one will take less. Check for tenderness every 5-10 minutes. Once it is tender, remove from heat and use a peeler to remove the outer skin. It should come off easily. Set aside to cool.
While the Chayote is cooking and cooling, chop the peppers.
Chop the onion, and slice tomatoes in half.
Roast the corn. It is easy to pan roast corn. Melt butter in a frying pan, with the heat on medium high. Add the corn. Let it sit for a minute, then swirl the pan around covering the corn with butter. Let corn cook for a few minutes, then turn corn over as it begins to brown. Remove from heat when you are happy with the  color.
Make dressing by mixing together the mayo and sour cream. Add in the minced garlic. I buy mine from Target, already minced, in a jar. It is amazing! Add in the chipotle powder. Whisk together. Add the juice from the lime. When I need to add fresh juice, I use a garlic press. I have arthritis, and I can't press on the fruit anymore to get all the juice. The garlic press works so well. I roll the fruit to make it tender, then I cut the fruit to fit the press, and do it several times with more fruit if needed. So easy! Whisk everything together and refrigerate.
Now that the Chayote is cooled, remove the seed from the middle, and throw away. 
Slice the Chayote and the chop into bite size pieces. 
Start putting everything together by filling the bowl with the pasta, vegetables, beans, and the chopped Chayote. Hold back the avocado and cheese, and mix in the dressing. 
When you are ready to serve, add the avocado and crumble the cheese over the salad. 
Enjoy the salad!
Thank you for stopping by today! Keep scrolling down the page for a copy of my recipe and read about all the other recipes and the giveaway.! Don't forget to enter!



#CookoutWeek 2018 is here! During the next week, I am joining over 50 of my blogger friends to celebrate summer by posting delicious cookout-themed recipes. If you love grilling, frozen treats, picnics, berries, s'mores, campfire meals, and other summer goodies... you are in the right place!


This week, we are also hosting a HUGE giveaway thanks to our generous #CookoutWeek sponsors. Enter below to win. Here's what one lucky person will receive:

Char-Broil Classic 280 2-Burner Liquid Propane Gas Grill from blog hosts The PinterTest Kitchen. This grill has 280 square inches of cooking space over porcelain-coated grates and two 12-inch side shelves for extra prep space.

A Red KitchenAid Mixer and 5 Flavored Butters from our friends at Chef Shamy. Make the World a Butter Place® with Chef Shamy! The winner will receive Garlic Butter, Cinnamon Brown Sugar Honey Butter, Vanilla Bean Honey Butter, Strawberry Honey Butter, and French Onion Butter with Asiago Cheese to use in your favorite cookout recipes. And if you just can't wait, use 10BUTTER10 starting today to get 10% off your Chef Shamy butter order on Amazon. These butters contain no oil, and the savory butters are perfect for keto recipes.

A Duck Product Pack from our friends at Maple Leaf Farms consisting of 2 pkgs All Natural Boneless Duck Breasts (7.5 oz), 2 pkgs Fully Cooked Roast Half Ducks w/Orange Sauce (14 oz), 1 pkg Duck Bacon (12 oz), and 1 pkg All Natural Duck Legs (16 oz). Maple Leaf Farms is celebrating its 60th anniversary raising White Pekin ducks on local, family-owned farms.

Butter-flavored Organic Coconut Oil from our friends at Barlean's. This dairy free option offers all the healthy benefits of organic coconut oil, with the rich taste of butter. It's great on toast, popcorn, baked potatoes, or cooked vegetables. You can also substitute it 1:1 for butter in baking, cooking, and frying, and of course it is perfect as a butter substitute for all your favorite cookout recipes. 

24 Cartons of Vinegar Shots from our friends at Vermont Village. You'll receive 12 cartons of turmeric flavor and 12 cartons of cranberry flavor. Each carton contains 12 individual, 1 fluid ounce vinegar shot pouches! This raw, organic apple cider vinegar has rich flavors from whole foods and is sweetened naturally with honey. 

That's a prize pack worth over $750! To enter, follow our sponsors and bloggers on social media by entering your information below: a Rafflecopter giveaway 




Here's a full list of the bloggers participating in #CookoutWeek 2018!  
You can find yummy recipes by checking out any of the links below:








  •   The PinterTest Kitchen
  •   2 Cookin Mamas
  •   A Day in the Life on the Farm
  • A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
  •   April GoLightly
  •   Authentically Candace
  •   Blogghetti
  •   Body Rebooted
  •   Bottom Left of the Mitten ♥ 
  • Cheese Curd In Paradise
  •   Chef Sarah Elizabeth
  •   Coconut & Lime ♥ 
  • Cookaholic Wife
  •   CookwithRenu
  •   Daily Dish Recipes
  •   Everyday Eileen♥ 
  • Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
  •   Family Around the Table ♥ 
  • Fix Me a Little Lunch ♥ 
  • For the Love of Food
  •   Frankly Entertaining
  •   Frugal & Fit
  •   Get the Good Stuff! ♥ 
  • Hardly A Goddess
  •   Herbivore Cucina
  • Join Us, Pull up a Chair ♥ 
  • Jolene's Recipe Journal ♥ 
  • Jonesin' For Taste
  •   Karen's Kitchen Stories
  •   Kelly Lynn’s Sweets & Treats
  •   Mildly Meandering
  •   Moore or Less Cooking ♥ 
  • Our Good Life ♥ 
  • Oven Tales By Syama
  •   Palatable Pastime
  •   Sarah Cooks the Books ♥ 
  • Savory Moments ♥ 
  • Seduction In The Kitchen
  •   Strawberry Blondie Kitchen ♥ 
  • Sweet Coralice
  •   Tampa Cake Girl ♥ 
  • Technotini ♥ 
  • That Recipe
  •   The Baking Fairy
  •   The Beard and The Baker ♥ 
  • The Freshman Cook ♥ 
  • The Simple Supper  ♥ 
  •   The Spiffy Cookie ♥ 
  • The Weekday Gourmet
  • This is How I Cook ♥ 
  • Who Needs A Cape? ♥ 
  • Wildflour's Cottage Kitchen  ♥ 
  •  Comment below with your favorite cookout recipe!

  • Yield: 8-10

    Southwestern "Cactus Needle" Pasta Salad

    ingredients:

    3 1/2 ounces Fideo Pasta (1/2 of a bag)
    1 medium sized Chayote
    1 red and 1 orange Mini Pepper
    1 large Green Onion
    1/2 cup Roasted Corn
    15 Cherry Tomatoes
    1/3 cup cooked Black Beans
    1 Avocado
    5 ounces Queso Fresco

    Dressing
    2 tablespoon Mayonnaise
    2 tablespoon Sour Cream
    1/4 cup Minced Garlic
    pinch of Chipotle Chili Powder
    1/4 Lime

    instructions:


    1. Boil the pasta according to package directions. It should boil for approx. 7 minutes. Let cool completely.
    2. This is what a Chayote looks like. This one is rather large, and a smaller one would be acceptable for this recipe. Place the Chayote in a pan covered with water. Turn heat to medium high. If it boils, that is fine. A Chayote this large takes about 20-25 minutes to soften. A smaller one will take less. Check for tenderness every 5-10 minutes. Once it is tender, remove from heat and use a peeler to remove the outer skin. It should come off easily. Set aside to cool.
    3. While the Chayote is cooking and cooling, chop the peppers.
    4. Chop the onion, and slice tomatoes in half.
    5. Roast the corn. It is easy to pan roast corn. Melt butter in a frying pan, with the heat on medium high. Add the corn. Let it sit for a minute, then swirl the pan around covering the corn with butter. Let corn cook for a few minutes, then turn corn over as it begins to brown. Remove from heat when you are happy with the  color.
    6. Make dressing by mixing together the mayo and sour cream. Add in the minced garlic. I buy mine from Target, already minced, in a jar. It is amazing! Add in the chipotle powder. Whisk together. Add the juice from the lime. When I need to add fresh juice, I use a garlic press. I have arthritis, and I can't press on the fruit anymore to get all the juice. The garlic press works so well. I roll the fruit to make it tender, then I cut the fruit to fit the press, and do it several times with more fruit if needed. So easy! Whisk everything together and refrigerate.
    7. Now that the Chayote is cooled, remove the seed from the middle, and throw away.
    8. Slice the Chayote and the chop into bite size pieces.
    9. Start putting everything together by filling the bowl with the pasta, vegetables, beans, and the chopped Chayote. Hold back the avocado and cheese, and mix in the dressing. 
    10. When you are ready to serve, add the avocado and crumble the cheese over the salad. 
    11. Enjoy the salad!
    Created using The Recipes Generator

    Wednesday, September 19, 2012

    Super Simple Spaghetti Salad!

    I heard the weather man say that Autumn will officially be hear on Saturday at around 7:00 am PST. Well, finally! So, I wanted to hurry up and share this little, super simple, summer side dish that I have made for years, Spaghetti Salad. You will love this recipe because you can tailor the ingredients to fit what you like!
    Spaghetti Salad
    You will want to refrigerate this salad before serving.
    It should be cold when served.
    • 1 Small Onion
    • 1 Red Pepper
    • 2 Roma Tomatoes
    • Spaghetti (cooked and cooled)
    • Raspberry Vinaigrette
    • McCormick Salad Supreme Seasoning
    Chop up your ingredients to bite size.
    Place in bowl with spaghetti. Toss together.
    Add a little dressing. 
    You can always add more, but 
    start with just a little.
    Toss together. Wait a while to add more dressing
    if you think it needs it. Refrigerate until cold.
    Take out of fridge, and sprinkle the top of the salad
    with salad supreme. Toss. 
    Taste the salad. If you want to add more
    dressing, now is the time to do so. 
    Sprinkle top of salad with more 
    salad supreme before serving.
    Enjoy!

    This recipe contains the ingredients that I used this time.
    Over the years I have also used red, yellow,
    and orange peppers, along with onion and tomato.
     That looks very pretty!  I have also used red onion, and 
    Italian dressing. Here are a few other ingredients 
    you could use:
    • small corn
    • zucchini wedges
    • cucumbers slices
    • hard boiled egg
    • garden tomatoes
    Thanks for joining me today!


    Tuesday, July 19, 2011

    Tomato Feta Pasta Salad

    This weeks salad is so refreshing and cool tasting. I don't know if that is a thing, but it does taste cool, like a breeze! You are going to love it.!!
    Dill and Garlic Dressing
    (adapted from Perfect Party Food by Diane Phillips)
    1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
    1/2 cup Olive Oil
    1/2 cup Red Wine Vinegar
    2 teaspoons Sugar
    2 cloves Garlic, chopped
    2 tablespoons Dillweed
    2 teaspoons dried Oregano
    1 teaspoon Black Pepper
    Mix together the veggie oil, olive oil, & the red wine vinegar.
    Whisk.
    (Isn't that pretty?)
    Add the sugar and garlic. Whisk.
    Add the dillweed, dried oregano, & pepper. Whisk.
    Refrigerate for at least 1 1/2 hrs. before serving.
    Let's make our pasta salad!
    You need 8 oz. of Radiatore pasta.
    Fill a pot with water, and pour in a teaspoon of oil.
    Bring the water to a boil.
    Cook the pasta for 9-11 minutes.
    Drain, cool and refrigerate.
    Now, let's put it all together!!
    1 roma tomato
    1/2 cucumber
    1/4 cup crumbled Feta Cheese
    1/4 cup chopped Red Onion
    Cooked Radiatore Pasta
    Peel the cucumber.
     Slice the cucumber.
    Slice each slice in half.
    Add the pasta, cucumbers, and red onions in a bowl.
    Chop the top and bottom off the tomato.
    Cut it in half, then cut each half into 4 pieces.
    Cut the pieces crosswise, so it is diced.
    Add the tomatoes to the bowl.
    Add 2 tablespoons of dressing to the salad. Mix it up.
    Add more dressing if you think it needs it.
    Top with feta cheese.
    Enjoy!

    Thanks for joining me today!

    I hope you will join me tomorrow when we
    will be making 
    Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo!

    See you then!