Mexican pasta salad

1 1/2 lbs pasta, cooked  

1 1/2 tbs olive oil 

 Cook pasta al dente, drain, toss with olive oil. Let the pasta cool while you prepare the rest of the components. 

 Add the following ingredients to the cooled pasta: 

4 lg tomatoes, chopped 

3 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen and thawed. 

1 or 2 cans beans, drained and rinsed (black, pinto, red, or a combination) 

1/2 medium red onion or 1 bunch green onion, chopped

1 medium bell pepper, chopped. (Any color) 

2cups grated cheddar cheese (can use pepper jack for part of the cheese) 

1 can sliced black olives 

Grated carrots (opt) 

Sliced jalapeños or Serrano peppers (minced. You can either add to the salad or incorporate into the dressing.)  

Once the salad is complete toss with the dressing below. Stir to coat well. 

 Dressing: 

1/2 cup mayonnaise 

1/2 cup sour cream 

1/4 cup red salsa 

Juice and zest of 1 lime 

1 tsp chili powder 

1/2 tsp cumin 

Salt and pepper to taste 

Tabasco to taste 

Optional: 1/4 packet of ranch dressing (I have never used this, but someone told me it would be good)  

Garnish salad with the following: 

 1 large avocado

diced Chopped cilantro (half a bunch or so) 

Serve as a side, but if you add cooked chicken or another meat this is a great main dish. Will keep in the fridge for several days though it will tend to get a little dry as the pasta continues to absorb moisture. If needed, toss with a little more olive oil or leftover dressing if it gets dry.

CHICKEN BACON RANCH LAYER SALAD

INGREDIENTS

1 recipe Avocado Lime Ranch dressing
9 cups roughly chopped green leaf or romaine lettuce, divided
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 large poblano or green bell pepper seeded and diced
1 {12 oz} frozen corn, steamed and cooled
6 medium tomatoes, 5 chopped and 1 sliced into wedges for garnish
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
2½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
½ lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
4 cup roasted chicken, roughly chopped
3 green onion, thinly sliced
2 large hard boiled eggs, cut into wedges


INSTRUCTIONS

In a large trifle or glass bowl layer in this order: ⅓ lettuce, ½ red pepper, ½ poblano pepper, ⅓ corn, ½ tomatoes, ½ red onion, 1 cup cheese, ⅓ bacon and ½ chicken. Drizzle with ½ cup prepared dressing.

Repeat, ⅓ lettuce, ½ red pepper, ½ poblano pepper, ⅓ corn, ½ tomatoes, ½ red onion, 1 cup cheese, ⅓ bacon and ½ chicken. Drizzle with ½ cup prepared dressing.
Top with the final ⅓ lettuce, ⅓ corn, ½ cup shredded cheese, ⅓ bacon and sliced green onion. Drizzle with 1/.2 cup dressing drizzling around the edge. Arrange egg and tomato wedges on top to garnish.
Chill for 4 hours, Serve with additional dressing on the side.

Mandarin Pasta Spinach Salad with Teriyaki Dressing

This salad is easy, quick, healthy, and tossed in the most addictive teriyaki vinaigrette dressing!

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 8 ounces bowtie pasta noodles
• 4 cups spinach leaves
• ½ cup craisins
• ⅓ cup cashews or pine nuts (such as Diamond of California)
• 1 4-ounce can mandarin oranges, drained
• ¼ cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

dressing

• ⅓ cup teriyaki sauce (the thicker, the better!)
• ⅓ cup rice wine vinegar (may sub apple cider vinegar)
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder (if you have it)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ½ cup oil (such as vegetable oil, canola oil, olive oil)

Instructions

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions, drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
2. While pasta is boiling, prepare the dressing. In a jar combine all dressing ingredients. Cover and shake to combine. Chill until ready to use.
3. In a large bowl toss together pasta, spinach, raisins, nuts, mandarin oranges, and cilantro. Just before serving pour dressing over salad, toss, and serve.

Ginger Dressing

1/2 cup onion

1/2 cup peanut oil

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons fresh ginger root

2 tablespoons celery

1-2 tablespoons ketchup

4 teaspoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons white sugar

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

Coarsely chop ingredients.  In a blender, combine the onion, peanut oil, rice vinegar, water, ginger, celery, ketchup, soy sauce, sugar, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Blend on high speed for about 30 seconds or until all of the ingredients are well-pureed. 

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad

Dressing:

·        1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

·        2/3 cup light sour cream

·        1 tablespoon minced chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce

·        1 teaspoon ground cumin

·        1 teaspoon chili powder

·        4 teaspoons fresh lime juice

·        1/4 teaspoon salt

·        1 spoonful Adobo sauce (optional) for an extra kick

Combine ingredients and stir well.

Salad:

·        4 cups shredded romaine lettuce

·        2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 breasts)

·        1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

·        1/2 cup diced peeled avocado

·        1/3 cup thinly vertically sliced red onion

·        1 (15-ounce) can black, Kidney, or Pinto beans, rinsed and drained

·        1 (8 3/4-ounce) can no-salt-added whole-kernel corn, rinsed and drained

Be sure to use romaine lettuce as it is sturdy enough to stand up to the moist ingredients and won’t wilt as quickly. Combine lettuce and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing over salad; toss gently to coat. Serve immediately, but salad is still good the next day.  

Fruit salad dressing

This makes enough dressing for a big bowl of fruit salad.  Bridget got the recipe online somewhere and made it for her "break the fast" today.  It was delicious.

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened  (the recipe called for strawberry cream cheese but we didn't have that)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup crushed pretzles or nuts (optional, she didn't use this) to give a little crunch

Mix all ingredients together, pour over bowl of cut up fruit.  (Bridget's fruit salad was cut up fresh pineapple, honeydew melon, cantaloupe, and grapes.)  Serves at least 8.

Perfect Prime Rib with Creamy Horseradish, "baked" potatoes, and Spinach Salad

Found this on another blog and I want to try it this year.  Thought it would be good to put it here so I could remember it.  :)


Prime Rib 

1.       Get a prime rib roast at your supermarket. It's usually labeled bone-in ribeye roast.

2.       Mix up equal parts of onion salt, seasoned salt, and garlic powder. Approx 1/4 cup total.

3.       Pat the salt mixture on both ends and the fat side of the roast. The salt may not stick as well on the fat side. Don't worry about it.

4.       Using a small knife, cut slits in the fat side of the meat and stick in slivers of fresh garlic before roasting.  This method allows it to melt into the fat and the meat while it cooks(Optional)

5.       Pre-heat oven as high as it will go. Usually 500 degrees, but NOT broil.

6.       Stick the roast in a dutch oven preferably on a small rack that will lift it off the bottom. Bone side down (fat side up). Get a meat thermometer and stick it in the middle of the roast.

7.       Cook the roast in the oven for 5-6 minutes per pound and then shut the oven off. DO NOT OPEN OVEN DOOR FOR TWO HOURS UNDER PENALTY OF DEATH.

8.       After two hours take it out and check the temp. If its 140 degrees it's perfect. If it's cooler, put it back in the oven at 375 degrees until it hits 140 degrees.. This procedure will yield a PERFECT MEDIUM RARE PRIME RIB. (Don't ask me how to do medium or well done because cooking prime rib roast past medium rare is a felony.)

9.       If desired, get a package of Au Jus mix in the spice section of your supermarket and make following directions.

Creamy Horseradish Sauce

1 cup heavy cream

1 pinch white pepper, or to taste

1 dash hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco) (optional)

3 tablespoons prepared horseradish

Whisk the cream in a mixing bowl until stiff peaks form. Lift your beater or whisk straight up: the cream should form a sharp peak that holds its shape. Season with the white pepper, hot sauce, and horseradish. Stir to combine.

Note: This sauce doesn't keep very well. Just plan to use it the same day you make it.

Baked Potatoes in the Crockpot  (since the oven will be busy!)

Not really a "recipe"...more of an idea than anything. A GOOD idea when the oven is already occupied. Wash potatoes....wrap in foil...pierce with small knife in several places...set in Crockpot....cover...cook. Depending on how much time you have....LOW for 6 to 8 hours....or HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.  Great thing about this is if you're off on your timing a little (or even a lot!)...the potatoes will wait there patiently until you are ready.

Spinach Salad

2 bunches of Spinach

1 head of lettuce (I use green leaf)

3 c. grated swiss cheese

1 container cottage cheese

1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled

3/4 c. sliced mushrooms (fresh)

1/2 red onion, sliced thinly

Dressing

1/2 to 1 c. oil (I use canola oil) 

3/4 c. red wine vinegar

3/4 t. dry mustard

1 1/2 T. poppy seeds

3/4 c. sugar

1 1/2 t. salt

Wash & dry spinach and lettuce. Take stems off spinach, cut up lettuce. Place in large enough bowl to toss in. (This is a BIG salad!) Add swiss cheese, cottage cheese, bacon, mushrooms & red onion.   Toss with dressing. Serve immediately!  (Don't toss with cottage cheese and dressing until just before serving or it will get soggy.)

Here is a bonus tip for you from a chef:  The best way to reheat a sourdough baguette is to run it quickly under the tap with the water running and then put it directly into a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, until it’s crisp on the outside and warm on the inside...  it works! 

Mashed Potato Salad

We made this for our 4th of July barbecue. It is nothing like the traditional potato salad, but to me is more like loaded mashed potatoes, hence the name. :)

1 5 lb bag of red potatoes

1 packet ranch dressing mix

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

1 lb bacon

1/2-1 cup chopped green onions

Cut up and boil the potatoes until they are soft. While they are cooking, cut up the bacon and fry it. when it is finished, lightly sautee the green onions in some of the drippings. Drain the bacon and green onions, and put them in a bowl with the mayonnaise, sour cream, and ranch dressing mix. Add garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste, as well as a dash of cayenne pepper if you like. When the potatoes are done cooking, drain and let cool, then mix them in with the other ingredients. Serve warm or chilled. 

7-layer Taco Salad

We call this salad, but it's really a 7-layer dip.

1 30-oz can refried beans

2 mashed avocados mixed with 1 tbs. lemon juice

1 cup sour cream mixed with ¼ cup taco sauce or salsa

4 chopped tomatoes

1 medium onion, chopped

1 can chopped or sliced olives

1-2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Layer above in order listed in 9 x 13 pan.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours, serve with plenty of tortilla chips for scoopers.

Spinach Salad and Dressing

1 bunch spinach

3-4 hard boiled eggs, chopped

fresh sliced mushrooms

Finely grated mozzarella cheese

crumbled bacon or bacos

thinly sliced red onion

1 can sliced olives

Clean spinach, mix all ingredients together in large bowl. 

2/3 cup oil

½ cup ketchup

¼ cup sugar

3 tbs. lemon juice

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. paprika

2 tbs. Worcestershire sauce

1 tbs. dried minced onion

Mix above ingredients for dressing, use as desired on spinach salad.  This makes a lot of dressing, you won’t need to make it each time you make the salad.

Mexican Pasta Salad

• 2  lbs. pasta (I like the rainbow spirals for this salad)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 large tomatoes, seeded, diced (4 cups)
• 2 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen, thawed)
• 2-3 cups canned black, kidney, or pinto beans, drained (I use a mixture)
• 1 cup coarsely grated carrots
• ½ medium red onion, chopped or 1 bunch green onions, sliced thin
• 1 medium bell pepper, any color, diced
• 1 can sliced black olives
• 1 cup sliced banana peppers
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups coarsely grated cheddar cheese (you can use more, or use a combination of other kinds of cheese)
• 2 seeded jalapeno or Serrano chilies or 1 cup pickled jalapeno slices, minced
• 1 avocado, peeled seeded and diced (optional, these will go brown in the leftover salad)
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro for garnish

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain, add olive oil and mix thoroughly to coat.  Let cool.  Add all other ingredients.  Toss. 

Dressing:

• 1/3 to ½ cup each mayonnaise and sour cream
• 2 – 4 tablespoons salsa
• Juice and zest of one fresh lime
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Fresh ground pepper and salt to taste
• 1/4 packet of ranch dressing packet (optional)
• Tabasco to taste

Dressing:  Mix mayonnaise, sour cream, salsa, and lime juice and zest in small bowl. Mix in chili powder and ground cumin. Add dressing to salad and mix to blend. Gently stir in avocado, season to taste with salt and pepper.  Pour over pasta salad mixture and mix well.   Add more olive oil if salad seems overly dry, especially the next day if you are serving leftover salad.  


This makes a very large salad, suitable for a potluck.