Colorful Pasta Salad

We have some weird names for recipes at our house. We don't just call something Pasta salad. We'll call it "Your mother's pasta salad" or "That pasta salad I made for the company BBQ last month". This one, we call "my mom's colorful pasta salad" I'll call it "Colorful Pasta Salad" for short. It's good stuff. It's great for picnics because the ingredients won't spoil in the hot sun.

1 box penne pasta
5 green onions, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and grated with a large grater
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of small black olives, drained and sliced in half
1 can of Jolly Green Giant corn niblets, drained
1/4c Parmesan cheese
Kraft Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette

Boil the penne pasta and rinse with cold water. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Add about a cup of the Kraft Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette. Mix together and let it set. I like to make it up at least a few hours before I need it.

Fruit Salad

I'm always looking for an easy dish to make for a family gathering, picnic, or just Sunday afternoon barbecue. My grandmother brought this dish to our most recent family dinner. The kids loved it. Roger loved it. It's light and refreshing without being too sweet. Since it doesn't use any dairy, it's not a big deal if it sits on the picnic table while the burgers are cooking.

1 crisp apple, diced
1 can Mandarin oranges, drained
1 banana, sliced
1 can pineapple tidbits with juice


Combine all ingredients. The pineapple juice will keep the bananas from turning brown.

Greek Salad

1/2 cucumber, quartered long the way and sliced thickly
1/2 tomato, chucked
8-10 olives
red onion, thinly sliced
feta cheese
Basil Parmesan Vinegarette (It's a Kraft dressing make with Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

This is a recipe that I make for myself when the kids want something like Mac and Cheese for dinner. I hate mac and cheese, but I don't want to deny them this American childhood rite of passage. The amounts of the above ingredients are approximate. I don't usually measure them out, but for this blog I counted so you'd have an idea of the ratio of vegetables. Feel free to use more or less depending on your preference. The ingredients above are for one serving.

Quarter the cucumber the long way and slice the cucumber into thick slices. I usually quarter the tomato too and chuck it. The other halves I put in the fridge for the next day. Open a can of whole olives. I use the small, but it doesn't make any difference. Toss 8-10 olives into the salad. Thinly cut one or two slices of red onion. Now cut the slices in to quarters. Toss in the salad. Sprinkle salad with feta cheese. Drizzle some Basil Parmesan Vinegarette on the salad. I think Kraft also makes a Greek Salad dressing, but they don't carry it at my grocery store. Serve immediately.

Cucumber Salad

This cucumber salad is my favorite to bring to a summer gathering. It's so light and crunchy. It's sweet and a little tangy. You can eat it as a side at the BBQ, put it on a burger, or eat it as a snack. It's not going to be in your refrigerator very long.

1 medium cucumber, sliced thinly
1/4-1/2 medium onion, sliced thinly
2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp vinegar
1 cup cold water
1/4 tsp pepper
tomato for garnish

Thinly slice the cucumber and onion. Combine all the ingredients and chill before serving. I like to dice up a tomato to garnish the salad, but it doesn't affect the flavor. This recipe serves about four so I always double it so there is a little something for me to snack on later. Like many great recipes, this salad is even better the next day.

Classic Holiday Fruit Salad

My mother made this salad for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner every year I was growing up. It's a classic at our house. A girlfriend of mine made it last Thanksgiving and my kids loved it. So I'm pulling this old recipe out and it's going to be a holiday tradition at my house, too.

1 can pineapple chunks, cut up
1 can mandarin oranges
12 oz sour cream
1 bag miniature marshmallows
1/2 bag coconut
10 maraschino cherries, rinse, pat dry and slice in half

Drain fruit well. Mix everything together. Chill at least one hour before serving so that all the flavors can blend and the marshmallows become softer. Cherries are just for color, but seem to be a favorite for all the kids.

Cranberry Salad

When I was a kid, the only thing I knew to do with cranberries was to string it up with popcorn to decorate a tree. Oh, and they make tart juice with cranberries. That was about it. Last year for our Thanksgiving program, someone brought this salad. I didn't even know it had cranberries in it until I looked at the recipe. I made it for our Christmas dinner and again at New Year. This is a really easy recipe to throw together; however, you have to start this recipe the day before you serve it. You have to give the flavors time to mingle.

2c raw cranberries
3 apples
1 can crushed pineapple
1/2c white sugar
1c mini marshmallows
1c cool whip

In a food processor or blender, finely chop the apples and cranberries. It's okay if there are still some apple chunks; after all, nobody likes a showoff, especially around the holidays. Drain pineapple. Add pineapple and sugar to the mixture. Stir mixture together and let it sit in the fridge overnight. About an hour before serving, add the marshmallows and the cool whip.

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

I got a little worried while I was making this salad. My family generally protests ingredients like raw onions, olives, and tomatoes. But the combination of all these ingredients was pretty amazing. It was a little salty thanks to the feta cheese and the kalamata* olives. It was a little sour and tangy thanks to the red wine vinegar in the vinaigrette. It was really yummy!

Note about kalamata olives: Kalamata olives are a burst of flavor. They are saltier than black olives. You could probably substitute black olives in this recipe, but black olives are very mild and I think you'd be missing out.

Salad:

4 oz bow tie pasta, cooked
2 cups cooked chicken, diced
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup artichoke hearts, chopped
1 cup kalamata olives, halved
1/2 cup red onion, sliced thinly
5 basil leaves, chiffonade*
1/4 cup pine nuts

*roll the basil leaves together tightly and slice thinly

Vinaigrette:

3 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp canola oil
juice of 1 lemon
1 clove of garlic, minced
3 tsp red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp oregano

Prepare the vinaigrette first. Combine all of the ingredients together in a Tupperware container. Add the lid and shake it up. Set aside to allow flavors to mingle.

Cook the pasta in well seasoned water (per instructions). Drain and rinse with cool water. Add the chicken, feta cheese, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, olives, basil, and pine nuts. Toss the salad with the vinaigrette and serve immediately. I added a little basil to the top of the salad as garnish.

Sesame Seed Pasta Salad

This is a great salad to take to a picnic or family pot luck. The sesame seed oil gives the salad a slight Asian flavor without being too strong or foreign. My sister gave me this recipe awhile back. I love using fresh cilantro in this recipe, but my husband doesn't like the taste of cilantro. Did you know that about a fourth of the population thinks cilantro tastes like soap? I heard that on the radio awhile back. I substitute dried cilantro. My husband says it's not so overpowering when it's dried. Fresh shredded chicken tastes best, but sometimes I substitute canned chicken without complaints from the family.

Ingredients:

1/4c. sesame seeds
16 oz bow tie pasta
1/2c vegetable oil
1/3c soy sauce
1/3c rice vinegar
1t sesame seed oil
3T sugar
1/2t ginger
1/4t black pepper
3c shredded chicken
1/3c cilantro, chopped
1/3c green onion

Boil pasta and rinse until cold. Toast sesame seeds in skillet. Combine oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame seed oil, sugar, ginger, and pepper in a jar and shake well. Pour dressing over pasta and toss to coat evenly. Mix in chicken, cilantro, and green onions.