Pasta Salad on a Sailboat

 

Easy Meal with Lots of Alternatives

Boil the pasta and add spices and mayonnaise as per package instructions.

Add what you have on hand:

Veggies such as carrots, cucumbers, asparagus, peppers, pickles, peas, onion, 

celery, radishes, tomatoes, corn, brocoli, cauliflower, zucchini

Protein such as cheese, chicken, tuna, salmon, sausage, beef, chickpeas, 

eggs, salami, shrimp, lentils, shelled edamane

24 Hour Salad

 In our home we have served this salad traditionally at Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, summer picnics and other family get-togethers.

  A crowd favorite.  

Gluten free with a taste of bacon and cheese.

6 cups chopped head lettuce

salt, pepper, sugar to taste

6 hard-boiled eggs

about 1 cup frozen peas

about 8-10 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled

2 cups shredded swiss cheese

1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sliced green onions

paprika

Place 3 cup lettuce in bottom of a large bowl.  Sprinkle with salkt, pepper and sugar.  Layer eggs.  Sprinkle with salt.  Layer peas, lettuce, bacon, cheese.  spread mayonnaise over top sealing to the edge of the bowl.  Garnish with green onions and paprika.  Cover and chill for 24 hours.  Toss to serve.

Note: although the recipe says chill for 24 hours this is simply to relate to it's name and of course makes it a convenient salad to make ahead.

 The salad can be tossed immediately. 

Variations:

Try alternating a layer of spinach with the lettuce.

Try mixing 1/2 cup sour cream with 1/2 cup of mayonnaise for dressing.

Try substituting cheddar cheese for the swiss cheese.

Try topping with fresh dill.

Try adding a layer of chopped tomatoes.

Brussel Sprouts Salad

Follow this link for an amazing salad perfect for Christmas Dinner, Thanksgiving or any other meal where you want to add a splash of colour and texture.  We enjoyed this salad with the Boston Crew for Christmas 2021. Makes a great leftover salad and can be served on it's own or as a crunchy addition to a turkey or ham bun.

4-6 servings

Ingredients

2 cups blueberries

1 cup sliced almonds, toasted

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 teaspoons honey

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons minced chives, for garnish

Directions

Use a sharp knife to shred the sprouts crosswise, stopping about 1/2 inch from the base (discard the bases).

Transfer the sprouts to a large bowl.  Add the blueberries and almonds and toss to combine.

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, rice vinegar, honey, poppy seeds, salt, and pepper.  Pour over the salad and toss until well coated.

Cover and refrigerated for at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours. Sprinkle with chives and serve.

Kathy's Walnut, Chicken and Cherry Quinoa Salad

1 cup dry quinoa
2 cups  water
1 1/2 diced grilled chicken
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/4 cup sweet onion, minced
1/2 cup walnuts (pecans) toasted and coarsely chopped
chopped fresh thyme (optional)
(options to add- mandarin orange slices, pumpkin seeds, craisins)
Dressing

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar (or 3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar)
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 garlic clove, minced
freshly ground pepper, to taste

Bring water and quinoa to a boil in a medium saucepan; reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 12 minutes.  Let stand for 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork and let cool.

Place the cooled quinoa in a large bowl with the chicken, cherries, celery and onion.  (can prepare the quinoa the day before)

Prepare the dressing.  Whisk together all ingredients and pour over the salad; toss well to coat.  Cover and chill for at least 1 hour.

Add walnuts and thyme to the salad just before serving.  Makes 6 servings.

Tip: Replace the dried cherries with halved and pitted fresh  herries when they're in season.

French Potato Salad

• 1 pound small white boiling potatoes
• 1 pound small red boiling potatoes
• 2 tbsp. good dry white wine
• 2 tbsp. chicken stock
• 3 tbsp. Champagne vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 10 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 c. minced scallions
• 2 tbsp. minced fresh dill
• 2 tbsp. minced flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tbsp. julienned fresh basil leaves
• 
  
• Drop the white and red potatoes into a large pot of boiling salted water and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, until they are just cooked through. Drain in a colander and place a towel over the potatoes to allow them to steam for 10 more minutes. As soon as you can handle them, cut in 1/2 (quarters if the potatoes are larger) and place in a medium bowl. Toss gently with the wine and chicken stock. Allow the liquids to soak into the warm potatoes before proceeding.
• Combine the vinegar, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and slowly whisk in the olive oil to make an emulsion. Add the vinaigrette to the potatoes. Add the scallions, dill, parsley, basil, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and toss. Serve warm or at room temperature.
  

  

Orange and Onion Salad

ORANGE AND ONION SALAD

4 medium seedless oranges
1 medium red onion
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tsp (5 mL) sugar
6 tbsp (90 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp (30 mL) sherry vinegar
12 black olives
Fresh flat-leaf parsley

Peel oranges carefully with a sharp knife and slice, removing any seeds. Arrange on a large plate.  Slice onion in thin rings. Arrange over oranges. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and sugar.  Drizzle all over with oil and sprinkle with vinegar. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.  Trim with olives and parsley and serve.

Chicken, Broccoli and Apple Salad

450 g (1 lb) cooked chicken, diced

1/2 large red delicious apple diced

1 1/2 cup broccoli florets, cooked and cooled

1/4 cup raw almonds, chopped and toasted

1/2 cup sliced green olives

1/4 cup organic dried apricots, chopped

4 slices crispy bacon, crumbled

Vinaigrette

1 clove garlic, chopped

the juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup mayo

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped

In a small food processor, or with the help of a stick blender, process all the ingredients for the vinaigrette until smooth and creamy.  Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add cooked chicken, diced apple, cooled broccoli, toasted almonds, green olives, dried apricots, crispy bacon and vinaigrette and mix until thoroughly combined.

Place the salad in the fridge for a few hours before serving to allow flavors to fully develop.  This salad will keep in the fridge for 2 to 3 days in an airtight container.

Barbara's Papaya/Avocado Salad

Salad Ingredients

Romaine lettuce, torn
red onion,thinly sliced (optional)
1/4 avocado, chunked
1/2 papaya, chunked
1 green onion chopped

Dressing Ingredients

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup salad oil

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

2 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. papaya seeds

Blend until seeds look like coarse pepper and then add.  

Add to the salad just before serving.

Caprese Salad

Enjoyed this salad many times with Barbara and Rob, at their Hawaiian retreat and at their prairie home back in Alberta.  Barbara has prepared it many ways.  This was one of her recent delightful salads.

cherry tomatoes

bocconcini cheese or fresh mozza

basil leaves cut into little strips (chiffonade)

extra virgin olive oil

freshly ground pepper

Freshly ground salt just before serving.

Balsamic vinegar glaze just before serving or on your plate.

This salad can be served as a salad or mixed with a fresh pasta for a complete meal.

Another way to serve this salad is as an appetizer-layer fresh sliced tomato, basil leaves, thick slice of bocconcini, drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with freshly ground pepper, drizzled with balsamic vinegar glaze.

Peach Pie Salad

This recipe is super easy and inspired by Oma who traditionally serves a jellylike salad on special occasions.  

19 oz peach pie filling (540 ml)

14 oz pineapple tidbits, drained (398 ml)

14 oz fruit cocktail, drained (398 ml)

2 sliced bananas

1 cup seedless green grapes

1 cup small marshmallows

Put pie filling into bowl.  Stir in drained pineapple and fruit cocktail.  Add sliced bananas. Add grapes and marshmallows.  Stir together.  Turn into a serving bowl and chill for several hours before serving.  Serves 15.

This year we enjoyed the salad on Christmas Eve with a spiral ham and Amy's hash brown potato casserole.

Other ingredients that could be added or substituted are  red maraschino cherries, canned mandarin oranges, diced apple or nuts.

-other canned mandarin oranges

If you are unable to find peach pie filling try apple pie filling along with a can of sliced peaches.

Oh Orzo, where have you been?

...and no I'm not talking about a new toy or animated character.  I'm talking about a delish pasta salad.  It just happens to be one of the simplest to put together dishes EVER.  It is perfect to bring along to a playdate to feed the Mama's and the littles just might be brave enough to try it because the Orzo itself is a rice shaped pasta.  Share a bowl of this salad this week and your Mama pals will be cravin' nothing else.  I have never met a new Mom (or a pregnant one for that matter) who doesn't think about Feta cheese ALL DAY long.  Just make sure if you are serving feta to the preggo crowd it is pasteurized (it is actually pretty hard to find the un-pasteurized stuff in the grocery aisles anyway).  The kick of spinach is a nice dose of folic acid to boot, load er on up!

Feta, Spinach & Orzo Salad

1 (16oz) package of Orzo, cooked and drained
2 cups baby spinach leaves, chopped.  (I used more)
2 cups crumbled feta cheese
1 red onion diced (I used less, like half)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 cup olive oil
2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine pasta, spinach, feta, onion and italian seasoning in a large bowl.  Toss with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.  Refrigerate and serve cold.  Serves 6-8.

The two littles camped out on a cold winter day.  The big reading to the little.

Using the old noodle.

The big little has started to try a few more new foods.  "Strings" is a new favorite pasta shape, replacing "Tubes".  So, surprise of all surprises, the big little actually ate this pasta salad.  Full disclosure, we had to say that somebody else made it... but he gobbled it up and I was happy.  Def. a repeat in our house.  A nice dish to drop off to a family or bring to a potluck, it makes a nice lunch too.

Spicy Noodle Salad

Dressing:
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 TBSP chili sauce
2 TBSP sugar
2 TBSP sesame oil (I didn't have any, substituted olive oil, worked fine)
1 inch chunk of fresh ginger, peeled and grated finely or minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp chili flakes (a tad hot, use the amt you think you can handle, less if serving to the littles)
ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Spaghettini or Vermicelli (any thin noodle will work)
grated carrots (I just bought the pre-shredded kind and used a ton!)
green onion, thinly sliced to taste

In a bowl, whisk all dressing ingredients together, making sure to whisk in vegetable oil in a thin stream.  Refrigerate until ready to use.  Can be prepared up to one week in advance (the flavor improves!).  Whisk again just before using.
Toss with cooked pasta, carrots and greens onions.

Tools of the trade.

The boys using their "noodles".

Precision building.

Note the concentration.  Now that's a good noodle workout.

Look Mama, we made "stairs"!

Sending Love,
Twin A

I HEART blue cheese.

One last meal to blog from when Grandma was visiting.  A couple of weeks ago the big little started calling me "Mommy" (instead of Mama) and then transferred that to "Daddy".  He had always called Grandma, well "Grandma", but when she was visiting he adjusted once again and thought the more grown up version of Grandma (ends with Ma) was also "MEE".  So she became "Grammy".  Pretty creative if I do say so.  Grandpa has always been "Papa", so we will see if that morphs into something else more "grown-up", when they both return for Christmas.  In the meantime, I love hearing him switch back and forth between "baby" and "big guy".

Sibling fun with Grandma "at the wheel".

Looks like Grandma can "drive the bus" perfectly!

This is called the Blue Cheese Salad (my fourteen year old self would cringe at the thought that this is one of my favorite salads, I guess you do eventually grow up!)

-great with grilled steak in the warm months
-we had it with boneless, skinless chicken thighs (cheap!), that we wrapped with a sprig of fresh thyme (rosemary would have been better) and a slice of prosciutto.  I seared them in a skillet then transferred them to the oven to finish cooking through.

Okay, now for the salad:

2 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP white-wine vinegar (or red works fine)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

1 package of mixed baby greens
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced or diced
crumbled Danish blue cheese

Combine all ingredients for the dressing in a jar and shake well, or whisk in a bowl.  Combine the salad greens, tomatoes, and red onion in a bowl.  Toss salad with the dressing.  Mound salad on plate and top with blue cheese.
Sending Love,
Twin A

"Girl Food"

Okay, so I admit, when Grandma visits, I kinda get excited because I can try out some fun "girl food".  This means that salad can be the star of the plate, instead of simply a side.  I will admit though, that the hubs has come a long long way, and usually just eats up whatever I put in front of him.  Smart man.  We had a few nights of lighter food for dinner (made up "a little", for the chocolate & peanut butter!).

The best "girl".

This salad is "Sarah's Salad" in my mind.  We've had it when we visit her and her family in Toronto.  It is so good, pretty simple and really tasty!  Thanks for letting me copy Sar! xxoo  

I served it with a rotisserie chicken we picked up on the way home.

Spinach Salad with Oranges and Warm Goat Cheese

Ingredients
3 small navel oranges (or canned mandarin oranges, E_A_S_Y!)
6 oz fresh mild goat cheese (preferably in log form)
1/3 cup pecans
1 tsp whole-grain mustard
1 tsp white-wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
Pinch of sugar
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb spinach, trimmed
1 small red onion, sliced into thin rings (I like to dice the onions)

Directions

Cut peel and white pith from oranges with a sharp small knife. Working over a sieve set over a bowl, cut orange sections free from membranes, letting sections drop into sieve.

OR

Drain canned or jarred mandarin oranges (EASY!)

Cut goat cheese into fourths and pat each portion between your hands to form a disk. Pat pecans all over each disk to coat. Bake at 350 degrees on a small baking sheet in middle of oven until heated through, about 5 minutes.

Measure out 1 tablespoon orange juice and whisk together with mustard, vinegar, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add oil and whisk until blended.

Add spinach, onion, and orange sections to dressing and toss well. Season with pepper. Divide among 4 salad plates and carefully transfer one (or more) goat-cheese disk to each salad.

The little is almost crawling!

Whenever I pick up a rotisserie chicken, we usually have a bit leftover.  So I always try to plan to make these Rice Paper Rolls with the leftovers.  Makes a nice lunch too!  Easy to keep the wrappers and noodles in the pantry on hand.  Any veggie you have on hand would work too!  Don't get nervous when you see the wrappers, it is super easy to do, once you make a mess of the first one!  This recipe is adapted from Julie Van Rosendaal's book "Grazing".

Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls

15 rice paper wrappers

Filling:
about a handful of rice vermicelli noodles (I usually just use the whole package, the big little likes to "play" with the extras)
1 TSBP rice vinegar
1 large carrot, peeled and shredded (I sometimes buy the pre-shredded carrots)
cooked and shredded chicken (or 15 cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined, cut lengthwise in half)
half a cucumber, peeled if necessary and cut into thin sticks
small handful of fresh cilantro (or mint or thai basil leaves)
1/2 cup peanuts (optional)

To prepare filling, place noodles in a bowl of boiling water and let stand about 3 minutes (or as package directs), to soften.  Drain well.  Add carrot and rice vinegar, toss to combine.
To assemble the rolls, fill a pie plate with hot water and lay a clean tea towel over your work surface.  Soak one rice paper round at a time in the water for about 10 seconds, until it is pliable, and lay it on the tea towel.  Pat surface with towel.
Place shrimp (cut side up) or chicken, cucumber, and a fist full noodle mixture down the middle of the round.  Sprinkle with cilantro and peanuts.  Fold over one long side to cover, then fold up both ends.  Roll the whole thing up as tightly as you can without tearing the wrapper.  It takes some practice to make these rolls "pretty", so keep trying to get the look that you want.

Serve with Ginger Mango Dipping Sauce

Combine 1/2 cup mango chutney, 2 TBSP water, 2 TBSP rice vine vinegar, the juice of a lime and 1 tsp grated fresh ginger.

Sending Love,

Twin A

A mighty fine pot-luck.

Okay, so we've been busy with life.  Had friends over last week and made my yummy "magazine chicken", red cabbage and spicy sweet potato wedges.  Didn't take any pictures, but believe me, it was good.  Will post the recipes next time I promise.  Our evenings consisted of a couple of art projects, and some frozen pizza & tuna sandwich dinner nights and one scrounge around in the fridge & dig out something edible feat.

Fall Leaves

Friendly Ghost Family (thanks SD Mamas for the idea!)

Of course I was chosen to be the foot!xxoo

I did manage to remember to take pictures of us making "Moons" since my big little is in LOVE with the Moon.  We talk about it every morning, noon & night.  Reading the book "Goodnight Moon" until we have it memorized and the cow jumps over it and the old lady whispers "hush".
Here is us using store bought pie dough, cutting circles with a glass ("_ircles Mama"), filling them with some strawberry jam, folding them over and making "pinches".  Baked them until they were brown and crispy.  Thought these might be fun to bring to the park the next day for a picnic, but they didn't last the night.  The M_O_O_N_S were just too good.

On Sunday we had a BBQ potluck to attend, so I made two new salads to try.  Both really yummy.  Again, no pictures of the actual food that we brought, I barely had time to get us out of the house on time and in the car in one piece.  CONFESSION: I showed up at the "event" with my shirt on not only inside out, but backwards.  Gotta love that Mommy-brain.  So, no there are NO photos of the salads I made, nor the dessert.  Use your imagination.


The first was a Waldorf Salad.  Since it is the fall and apples are in season, I thought it would be a nice change.  This recipe was adapted from the The Food Network.


1/2 cup toasted walnuts
1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used greek yogurt)
2 TBSP mayo
Minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp honey
1 lemon zested and then juiced
fresh ground black pepper
2 large crisp apples
2 ribs celery chopped
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 head Boston lettuce

Whisk the yogurt, mayonnaise, parsley, honey, and lemon zest in a large bowl and season with pepper.  Halve, core, and cut the apples into 3/4-inch pieces, leaving the skin intact. Add the apples, celery and raisins to the bowl, and sprinkle with the lemon juice; then toss with the dressing. Cover and refrigerate if not serving immediately.  When ready to serve, toss walnuts into the salad. Arrange the lettuce leaves on a large platter.  Spoon salad on lettuce.  Enjoy!

The second was a Cucumber Salad.  Sounded like a "pickled" type that my hubby likes.  This recipe was also adapted from the The Food Network.  It was still tasty the next day.  I actually made this up the night before the BBQ.

3 large cucumbers sliced very thin

1 TBSP salt

1/2 cup water

3 TBSP apple cider vinegar

1 tsp sugar

paprika, as much as you wish for flavor & color

minced green onions

Place sliced cucumbers in a bowl. With your hands, mix the salt into the cucumber.  Cover and let stand for at least thirty minutes.
The Dressing: While the cucumbers are marinating, prepare the dressing which consists of water, vinegar, sugar and paprika.  Squeeze out all the juice from the cucumbers AND RINSE WELL to remove excess salt.  Mix the dressing into the cucumbers.  Sprinkle the green onions over the cucumbers.  This will keep for several days in the fridge.

We also brought Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Squares which I knew would be a hit with the kids at the BBQ, young AND old.  I should have made these earlier in the day so they had a little more time to cool and set up.  I ended up bringing them in the pan that I baked them in.  If you want to be able to remove them from the pan and serve them in squares, make sure that you allow them enough time to cool completely in the fridge.  So so so good.  This was a recipe that I had gotten when I worked at FCH in Boston.  A really good fake-out and perfect bake sale treat.

2 rolls of re-fridge slice & bake cookie dough

3/4 cup sugar

two 8oz pkg softened cream cheese

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

Grease and flour a 9X13 pan.  Spread 1 roll of dough on bottom of pan (don't worry if it seems thin, do as best as you can without leaving holes).  Cream together sugar, cream cheese, vanilla & eggs.  Pour on top of 1st layer of cookie dough.  Press 2nd roll of cookie dough out flat on wax paper to a 9X13 shape. Place on top of cream cheese layer.  I "flip" it over, don't worry if it is a little messy, it is very forgiving.  Bake @ 350 degrees for 35 to 40 min.  Cool, then refrigerate completely.  Cut into squares.  Serve with plenty of milk!

Sending Love,

Twin A

Have fun out there on the trails.  My littles are loving their hand-me-down ride (thanks Toronto crew)!  We LOVE NY in the fall.