Blog This Blog That...A Short Introduction

A Little Hello
Time to get started, I suppose. First off, this probably won't be a daily blog style, more of a post as I can due to my schedule, but hopefully it'll give you a nice taste of the meals and desserts I've happily grown up with. As well as learning the ropes of how to work the blog...Be on the lookout as I'm sure formatting will continue to change.I hope to use this as a place to share some good recipes with others and learn to improve upon my own cooking skills! After all, the best way to learn is by doing, correct? As an Occupational Therapist I will say, it is important to engage in occupations that we find interesting and meaningful to help improve our everyday quality of life! It just so happens, for me, I am interested in cooking/baking, and writing (So kill two birds with one stone here!). With that all said, I welcome you here, and hope you can find a recipe or two that you throughly enjoy (and can put your own spin on). Happy food hunting :)

June 28, 2011

Warm Pasta Salad

Growing up a quick and simple dish to take to picnics or just have for dinner was a pasta salad. In the summer time my mom was great with making delicious cold pasta salads that would just hit the spot! of course I could just eat the salad as a main dish, which I often did, but a perfect side for it despite hot weather was always cheesy garlic bread! Well, seems that I'm running low on groceries and a quick trip to a local farmers market brought home some fresh green peppers and basil foccata bread, and I had some fresh tomatoes and onions on hand. So I had to figure out something to make for dinner. After all, a girl's gotta eat! Raiding the cupboards I realized I also had some pasta and seasonings I could use, so I pooled my resources and decided to do my own take on my mom's pasta salad to make a delicious warm dish (though it could also be eaten cold and taste just as delicious!)
Ingredients
Pasta (angel hair or spaghetti pasta work best)
1 Green Pepper 
Onion
1 Tomato
Garlic
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing 
Salt/pepper
Salami (optional)
Parmesan cheese or feta cheese

Assembly
Cook the pasta as directed. While the pasta cooks wash, derib, and dice up the green pepper, dice up the tomato, and dice up equal amount of onion. In a medium sauce pan drizzle some olive oil and add the diced up veggies. Cook veggies until onions are caramelized. Add the salt/pepper, garlic (I used garlic poweder but if using actual garlic cloves thinly dice up desired amount and add it to the pan for flavor), and drizzle enough balsamic vinaigrette on top for a thin coating. Lower heat and mix everything together then let simmer a moment. Usually by now the pasta is done cooking. Drain and rinse the pasta. With some of the excess liquid simmered off turn off the heat and add the pasta to the frying pan. Using tongs toss the salad together in the frying pan until well mixed. If you need/want to add more of the dressing or anything feel free to do it at this point. I also added some sliced up salami to the mix (added it at the end). Serve and top it with some fresh grated parmesan cheese or feta cheese. A nice warm dish that will hit the spot!

Final Thoughts
It's a pretty simple recipe that you can spice up in many different ways. You can add other veggies to it, or mix in some calamata or black olives, or if you want a little more of a spice try using some cayanne to the mix. I also made myself a nice side dish of cheesy garlic bread with the fresh basil foccata bread I'd bought at the farmer's market. You can also use french bread. Just preheat oven to about 250-300 degrees. Cut the bread into slices and butter one side, sprinkle some garlic powder and top with mozzarella or your choice of cheese. Put in the oven and head until cheese is melted (about 4 mins). Quick and simple side dish! Well hope you enjoy! Happy eats! 

1 comment:

  1. Hmmm, I will definitely try this. I am obsessed with Kalamata olives, and reminds me of my greek potato salad I have made in the past, soemthing I first had years ago in a greek restaurant in Cleveland, Ohio. Thank you for sharing.
    www.vegetariansoupforthebowl.blogspot.com

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