{recipe} Sun-Dried Tomato Salad

Weekly Test Recipes: Week 29!

My sister made this salad for a picnic last summer.  I went back for seconds and it was all gone!  I decided to try making it myself this week.

SUN-DRIED TOMATO SALAD (Pioneer Woman)

1 jar (7 oz.) sun-dried tomatoes
4 cloves garlic (next time, I'll use 3)
3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 c. extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
16 oz. rotini pasta
1 pt. ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
1 jar kalamata or assorted olives, chopped (I bought a mixture of Kalamata, black, and green)
10 leaves basil, chopped or julienned
1 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

For the dressing:
In a blender combine sundried tomatoes, garlic, salt, pepper, and vinegar until tomatoes are chopped. Continue blending while drizzling in olive oil until mixed together. Can make the night before so flavors blend together.

To make the salad:
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water until no longer hot. Pour 2/3 of the dressing over the pasta. Add remaining ingredients, tossing together and adding more dressing until the salad is coated to your liking. Serve cold.

I liked this salad, but my fiance did not.  The garlic was a little to intense for him.  Next time I will use 3 cloves garlic instead of 4.  I will also use just green and black olives next time. Also, this makes a HUGE amount.  So unless you're bringing it to a pot luck or have a big family, a half recipe should suffice. 

Rating: GOOD

{recipe} Summer Tortellini Salad

Weekly Test Recipes - Week 28!

I came across this recipe via The Sisters Cafe.  They have a neat blog where all the 5 sisters in the family post recipes they've been trying as well as family favorites.  It speaks to me because my five sisters and I have a private blog where we can keep track of each other's lives since we live all over the country.  I love it.  Here is the first recipe I tried from their website.  I have many more bookmarked to test in the future.

SUMMER TORTELLINI SALAD (TheSistersCafe)

1 pkg. (9 oz.) uncooked refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini
1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced and cut into half-moons
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped (I use the equivalent of baby carrots instead)
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
4 green onions with tops, thinly sliced
1/4 cup snipped fresh parsley
1/2 c. ranch dressing (I suggest a little less than this)
Parmesan Cheese - to taste

Cook tortellini according to package directions, drain and rinse under cold running water. Place tortellini in a large colander and set aside. Add vegetables to tortellini. Add dressing and top with grated parmesan cheese. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.
Makes 6 servings

This was so good!  It is very refreshing, and I love the hint of cheese that comes with the tortellini.  Definitely a keeper.  Soo easy to make and great for summer!
 
Rating: EXCELLENT

P.S. I suggest you use a large enough saucepan for cooking the tortellini.  I was afraid mine was going to spill or not cook evenly:

{recipe} Chicken Salad

Test Recipes week 16! (continued)

Chicken Salad is one of my favorite sandwich fillings.  Since I moved to South Texas, I have discovered that chicken salad here usually consists of ground up chicken.  Good, but a little too much 'mush' for my taste...This week I had a craving for good chunky chicken salad, so I decided to try out the recipe from Pioneer Woman that I've had bookmarked for a long time.

CHICKEN SALAD (Pioneer Woman)

3 large cooked boneless skinless chicken breasts (or 1 grocery store rotisserie chicken), shredded/chopped into bite-size pieces

3 stalks celery, chopped

3 green onions, minced

2 c. grapes, quartered

1/2 c. mayonnaise

1/2 c. sour cream

small handful fresh dill, minced (I used ~ 1 Tbsp. dill weed)
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
Kosher salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
*I also added a couple teaspoons mustard and a few shakes of cayenne pepper*

Prepare cooked chicken into bite size pieces or shred.  Place chicken, grapes, celery, and onions into medium bowl.  Place remaining ingredients in smaller bowl and whisk until combined and smooth.  Taste test and adjust until you like the taste.  Combine dressing with chicken mixture.  Serve as sandwiches, wraps, lettuce wraps, or straight salad mixture on a plate.  Makes 6 servings.

I rated it GOOD, not great.  I think it's a good starter recipe that can be tweaked according to your own tastes.  Next time I'm going to add pine nuts for even more crunch.  I'm not a huge celery fan (hate it in soup!), but I love the crunch it adds to this salad.  Stay tuned to see what I did with the leftover celery!

{recipe} Broccoli Slaw

Test Recipes week 16!

This week I went wild.  I tested out FOUR different recipes! :)  I don't know what came over me, but I guess it was just indecisiveness when it came to picking the recipes I wanted to test.  So here is the first of FOUR recipes for this test week:

BROCCOLI SLAW (scaled down from Erin'sFoodFiles)

1 crown broccoli, chopped
1/2 c. cherry flavored Craisins (Or any dried cherries you prefer.  These are what were available to me.)
1/4 c. minced red onion
1/2 c. sliced almonds
1/8 c. mayonaisse
1/8 c. light sour cream
1/8 c. Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
black pepper

Combine broccoli, Craisins, onion, and almonds in a serving bowl.  In smaller bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients until smooth and creamy.  Pour over broccoli mixture and stir well.  Make the night before so that flavors have a chance to combine.  Although, I could only wait about an hour before digging in ;)

Sooooooooo good and refreshing. I really love the occasional hints of sweetness that come through when you bite into a cherry. And the broccoli and almonds make things nice and crunchy. This is another one you really need to try.  I rated this recipe EXCELLENT, and I'm going to go ahead and actually say it's my favorite recipe that I've tested in all of 2010!