Italian Pasta Salad

I made this pasta salad for the bridal shower I catered several weeks back. I can’t even begin to stress how easy it is to make and how versatile it is. You can put whatever veggies you want in it; asparagus, mushrooms, cucumber, green onions, yellow squash, etc… I made it so it was vegetarian friendly, but you could add diced ham, pepperoni or salami, if you want.  Try feta cheese instead of cheddar or mozzarella. It’s better made a day ahead of when you want to serve it. I like to keep a little extra of the dressing on the side, so when I’m ready to serve, I toss it with a tablespoon or two of the dressing to freshen it up. I also don’t add the tomatoes till ready to serve, if added to early they won’t taste fresh.

This is a basic pasta salad recipe, take it and add what you want to make it your own.

 

Italian Pasta Salad:

  • 2lbs Pasta (any shapes you want)
  • 3 small zucchini, diced small
  • 2 red or green bell peppers, diced small
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
  • 1 can black olives, drained
  • 1 8oz block cheddar cheese, diced small
  • 1 8oz block mozzarella cheese, diced small

Dressing:

  • 1 package Good Seasons Italian dressing
  • 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
  • 3/4 cup olive oil
  • 3 tbs water
  • 2 tbs fresh lemon juice
  1. Boil pasta according to package directions, till Al dente. Drain and drizzle with a little olive oil to keep the pasta from sticking, set aside.
  2. In a very large bowl, whisk together the Good Seasoning, vinegar, water and lemon juice. Continue to whisk and slowly pour the oil, till combined.
  3. Add the pasta and all veggies but the tomatoes, to the bowl with half of the dressing, mix to combine; reserve the leftover dressing.
  4. Once the pasta has cooled down, add the cheese and refrigerate till ready to serve. Before serving, add tomatoes and a tablespoon or two of dressing to freshen up the salad.

Source: Gina Marie

Oven Baked Fries

I am not exaggerating when I say these are the best oven fries I’ve ever had. I’ve had my eye on these babies for awhile. So, when the weather got nice for one day we grilled burgers and I made these fries.  The hardest thing about making your own fries in the oven, is getting them cooked to perfection. Soft and creamy on the inside and crispy on the outside. I could never get them to turn out that way. Thankfully the test kitchen at Cook’s Illustrated was able to figure out how to get them cooked perfectly. The ingredients are very simple and there is one important step in creating the perfect oven fries. The step may sound silly, but if not done you won’t have the creamy/crispy fries you long for. Soaking the potatoes in very hot tap water for a good 20 minutes is the key. I learned never to doubt Cook’s Illustrated and once I bit into a fry; I knew they had the winning recipe.

*Important Note* Make sure you use a heavy-duty baking sheet. If you use a lighter baking sheet the heat from the oven could cause it to warp.

Oven Baked Fries:

*Serves 3-4

  • 3 Russet Potatoes (about 8 oz each) peeled, each potato cut lengthwise into 10 to 12 even wedges
  • 5 tbs vegetable or peanut oil
  • Salt and ground black pepper
  1. Adjust an oven rack to the lowest position; heat the oven to 475 degrees. Place the potatoes in a large bowl and cover with hot tap water; soak 20 minutes. Meanwhile, coat an 18 by 12 inch heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet with 4 tbs of the oil and sprinkle evenly with 3/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper; set aside.
  2. Drain the potatoes. Spread the potatoes out on a triple thickness of paper towels and pat throughly dry with additional paper towels. Rinse and wipe out the now-empty bowl; return the potatoes to the bowl and toss with remaining 1 tbs oil. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet; cover tightly with foil and bake for 5 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the bottoms of the potatoes are spotty golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating the baking sheet after 10 minutes. Using a metal spatula and tongs, scrape to loosen the potatoes from the pan, then flip each wedge, keeping the potatoes in a single layer. Continue baking until the fries are golden and crisp, 5 to 15 minutes longer, rotating the pan as needed if the fries are browning unevenly.
  3. Transfer the fries to a second baking sheet lined with paper towels to drain. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Source: The New Best Recipe by Cook’s Illustrated

Stuffed Mushrooms

Last week I catered a Bridal Shower and served these stuffed mushrooms. I apologize for the photo. After I plated them and put them out, I realized I hadn’t taken a picture. The mushrooms were very popular and before they were gone I had to run out and grab a photo of what was left. I made a double batch and by the time I was able to take a photo these 5 were the only ones left. That just shows you how popular and wonderful they are.

I was very excited to make these, I have had this recipe bookmarked for a long time and was waiting for the right time to make them. My kids and I are the only ones in the family who really like mushrooms, so I don’t usually buy them. After making the mushrooms, I told myself that I will make these again for us, I know my son would go crazy over them.

The Bridal Shower was a success and along with the mushrooms I made chicken salad in phyllo cups, pasta salad, meatballs, stuffed strawberries and cupcakes. I can’t wait to show you the cupcake stand I made. I’ll be posting that later this week.

Stuffed Mushrooms:

  • 24 whole fresh button mushrooms
  • 3-4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
  • 2 tsp. vegetable oil
  • 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
  • ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • ¼ tsp. pepper
  • ¼ tsp. onion powder
  • ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper, or less if you don’t want a big kick
  • 2 tbs Bread crumbs
  • minced herbs, for garnish (optional)
  1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Lightly grease a baking sheet with cooking spray.  Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully remove the stems from the mushroom caps, setting the caps aside for later.  Add the stems to the bowl of a food processor.  Add the garlic to the food processor as well, and pulse in brief bursts until them mushroom stems and garlic are finely chopped.
  2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the chopped mushroom stems and garlic and cook until all the moisture has disappeared, about 5-7 minutes.  Lower the heat to medium-low.  Stir in the cream cheese, Parmesan cheese and spices.  Stir together until the mixture is smooth and creamy; remove from the heat.  Using a small spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of filling.  Arrange the mushroom caps on the prepared baking sheet. (At this point you can refrigerate the mushrooms till ready, I made them a day in advance)
  3. Top with bread crumbs.  Bake for 20 minutes or until the mushrooms are hot and liquid starts to form under the caps.  Transfer to a serving platter, garnish with fresh herbs if using and serve immediately

Source: Annie’s Eats who adapted from Allrecipes

Spinach Dip

I love spinach and this dip is one of my ultimate favorites. It’s a very popular recipe but I will still post it just in case there are those who have never made it before. One of the things I did change was the amount of mayonnaise used. The original recipe calls for 1 cup but I feel that it gives to much of a mayonnaise taste so I cut it back to 3/4 cup. Other than that, I don’t change up the recipe too much and it’s always a hit. I love to double the recipe so I know I will have leftovers.

 

Spinach Dip:

  • 1 10 ounce pkg chopped frozen spinach, thawed and liquid squeezed out (place spinach in towel and squeeze)
  • 1 16 ounce container sour cream
  • 3/4 cup Mayonnaise
  • 1 package Knorr® Vegetable Soup recipe mix
  • 1 8 ounce can water chestnuts, chopped fine
  • 3 green onions, chopped fine
  1. Mix together the Mayo, sour cream and vegetable soup mix.
  2. Stir in the rest of the ingredients and mix till all combined. Place in refrigerator and chill at least 2 hours. Serve with pumpernickel bread, crackers and veggies.

Source: slightly adapted from Knorr

 

 

Shrimp Mousse

 

When I first heard shrimp mousse, I will admit I sorta cringed. When I think of mousse I tend to think of a velvety chocolate dessert, something sweet and certainly not savory. But when I tried it, I learned that mousse can be savory and really delicious! We decided to add this to the menu of my sister-in-law’s baby shower. We were wanting food that was a little different than what is typically served at baby shower. We wanted to stay away from lunch meat since that’s become a no-no for pregnant women. The shrimp mousse really added a special something to food table and we didn’t have much leftover.

 

Shrimp Mousse:

  • 1 envelope unflavored, clear gelatin
  • 2 tbs water
  • 1 can cream of mushroom soup
  • 1 8oz package cream cheese
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup onions, diced small
  • 1 cup celery, diced small
  • 2 4oz cans baby shrimp, drained well

 

  1. Spray any type of mold, bunt pan, bowl with cooking spray, set aside.
  2. Combine gelatin and water in medium saucepan set over medium heat. When the gelatin is dissolved, add cream of mushroom soup and cream cheese, cook until combined and creamy, about 2-3 minutes.
  3. Take off heat and add the mayo, onion, celery and shrimp, stir till combined. Salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Pour into prepared mold and chill for at least 8 hours or overnight.

 

Source: Gina Marie’s Kitchen

Baby Shower 2011

Over the weekend we had my sister-in-law’s baby shower. I co-hosted the shower with my mother-in-law. We have been planning for months and finally it all came together exactly how we planned. Later this week I’ll post the recipes to some of the dishes we served but for now I’m going to give you highlights from the day.

Here I am with the beautiful and pregnant Mandi. My niece is there too but you can’t see her yet, she’s still baking.

The place settings were onesie sugar cookies and wrapped silverware. I forgot to get a photo of the tables once the white onesies were on them. We put a white onesie with a paper plate placed inside of the onsie at every table, along with fabric markers. Each guest got to draw or write whatever they wanted on the onesie. (I forgot to get photos of that too and will update once I get those). They turned out so dang cute!

Some of the cookies that were placed around the tables. Yumm

One of the things I was really excited about was this photofetti. You can use any photos you have and have them made into confetti. I got some photos of Mandi pregnant and even used a sonogram photo. They turned out great and were a huge hit.

Let’s get to the important part, the food. Chicken Enchilada Wraps was one of the first things I thought about serving. They turned out so good. I did have to make a few adjustments to the recipe and I’ll get into that later this week.

Spinach Dip was next on the list. Mandi loves it and what mommy wants, mommy gets.

These meatballs are the easiest to prepare and yet taste like you have spent hours on them. Most of you have probably made them or eaten them. The sauce is grape jelly and chili sauce and that’s it. Pour over frozen Italian meatballs, place in crock pot and in a few hours you have the best tasting meatballs.

My mother-in-law made the shrimp mousse. The first time I had shrimp mousse was this past Christmas Eve. It’s really easy to put together and it turns out so pretty. Tastes pretty darn good too.

Fruit kabobs are a fun way to present fresh fruit. They are fun to put together even though my daughter kept sticking herself with the skewers.

To wash it all down we served “Mock Champagne Punch”. You can find the recipe at Delish. She posted this recipe as I was looking for something other than the typical red fruit juice and 7-up punch. We made a fruit ring to keep the punch cold. We took frozen fruit and filled it with white grape juice so it wouldn’t dilute the punch.

I love this picture. Mandi got so many wonderful things and I hope we gave her a baby shower to remember. Now I sit here patiently waiting for the little bambina to arrive.

Basmati Rice Pilaf

Before I get into this recipe, I want to apologize in advance if I don’t post much next week. My beautiful sister-in-law will be having a baby girl in March and I’m co-hosting her shower. This weekend I’ll be working on making 50-60 onesie sugar cookies. Next week I’ll be prepping all the food. I’m super excited about the shower and will blog about it when it’s all over.

Onto the recipe. I made the Basmati Rice Pilaf when I made the Chicken In A Pot. The sauce from the chicken went perfectly with the rice. The one thing I forgot to add to the rice was the scallions. I don’t think it made a huge difference, but I love scallions and would loved to have had them in it.

Basmati Rice Pilaf:

  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1 small onion, minced
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups basmati rice, rinsed and drained *See note at bottom
  • 2 1/2 cups water
  • 2 minced garlic cloves
  • 1 tsp grated lemon zest
  • 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
  • 2 thinly sliced scallions
  • 1 tbs fresh lemon juice
  1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and 1/4 tsp salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes.
  2. Stir in the rice, garlic, lemon zest and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring often, until the edges of the grains begin to turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in the water and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover and continue to simmer until the rice is tender and the water is absorbed, 16-18 minutes.
  3. Remove the pot from the heat and sprinkle the peas over the top. Lay a clean folded kitchen towel on the pot and replace the lid over the towel. Let sit for 10 minutes. Add the lemon juice and scallions, fluff the rice with a fork, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

*Note: Rinsing the rice: Rinse the rice in a fine mesh strainer under cold water until the water runs clear, then set the strainer of rinsed rice over a bowl to drain until needed. Rinsing the rice removes excess starch so the rice is light and fluffy, not clumped and sticky.

Source: America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook