Greek Pasta Salad~Kiddo's Favorite

Its no secret around here, Kiddo loves cucumbers and tomatoes. They are his all time favorite veggies. But don't tell him that because he will tell you, 'no they are fruits because their seeds are inside.' My little wealth of knowledge he is...he loves correcting you and being right about everything. I wonder where he gets that from? *wink wink*

Here is what you need to make the salad:

1/2 a box of pasta cooked and drained (I used whole wheat rotini)

1/2 cup of olive oil

garlic salt and pepper to taste

3 chicken breasts cooked and diced. (It doesn't matter how you cook them. I coated mine with olive oil and garlic sauce. Then I grilled them until the juices ran clear on med/low heat.)

3 tomatoes cut into large pieces

1-2 cucumbers cut in large pieces

1 container of feta cheese

What you do:

Combine everything in a large bowl and toss to coat with the olive oil. Season to taste with the garlic salt and pepper.



Voila! There you have it, a simple and tasty pasta salad for a hot summer day.

*If you want it to be vegetarian you could leave out the chicken or leave it out and add some white cannellini beans in place of the chicken.

Enjoy!

Easy Weeknight Beef Stroganoff

I got this recipe from one of my old Kraft Food and Family magazines. It is simple and tasty. My whole family ate it up, actually they were circling the kitchen like vultures while it was cooking. *wink*

What you need:

1 can of beef broth

1/4 cup of water

1/2 tub of cream cheese (I used a bit more than that, pretty much the whole container)

1 small jar of sliced mushrooms drained (I omitted this and used peas instead)

2 cups of egg noodles

*The recipe asks for frozen prepared meatballs but I made my own.

My meatballs:

1lb of ground beef, 1 tsp of sage, 1 tsp of cumin, 1 tsp garlic salt and 1 tsp of onion powder. I combined all of these and formed the meatballs.


What you do:

Cook your egg noodles until done, drain and set aside.



Put your pot back on the stove, spray with non stick spray and cook your meatballs.



Be sure they are browned on all sides and done all the way through. You can take one out and slice it to ensure they are done. Remove your meatballs from the pot, drain the drippings and return your noodles and meatballs to the pot. Add your broth, water, cream cheese and your peas (or mushrooms) cook for about 15 mins stirring until smooth.



This is super yummy, super creamy and super comforting!

Our Homemade Tuna Noodle Casserole

My son loves tuna fish! Have I said that before, I know I must have. Well let me say it again, my son loves tuna fish! I cannot say it enough because believe me according to him I can never feed it to him enough.

A few evenings ago I was in search of something easy to make for dinner and decided to whip up a tuna noodle casserole. Of course he had to get in the kitchen with me because it was tuna fish. This was kinda a 'clean out the pantry' meal too. The next day was shopping day and I was making what I could with what I had.

So here is our recipe for Tuna Noodle Casserole.

Boil about 3/4 box of pasta...we used a few kinds of pasta as you can see:

I had several boxes of 'already used some' pasta left in them.

While your pasta is cooking:

Shred about 1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese



Melt 2 tblsp of butter in a pan with 2 tblsp of flour...cook for about 2 mins or so.

Add 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of chicken broth, stir till smooth.



Add cheese and stir until smooth.



*If you need to add more liquid go ahead, I added a bit more chicken broth so that it stayed smooth and creamy. You don't want the cheese sauce to be watery but you don't want it to be too creamy.

Add salt and pepper to taste (I like adding garlic salt)

Drain your cooked pasta.

Mix the pasta, cheese sauce, 2 cans of tuna fish (drained) and 1 can of green beans in a large bowl until everything is coated with the cheese sauce. Pour into a greased baking dish.
*You could easily use peas in this instead of green beans.



Crumbled crackers on top, we used French Onion Sun Chips because that is what we had on hand.



Bake on 375 for about 30-35 mins.



Yummy!

*This was great in my sons thermos for lunch the next day. Did I mention he loves tuna fish? ;)

I'm linking up to Mommy's Kitchen Potluck Sunday! Come on over and bring a dish for the potluck.

Orzo Salad with Dill, Chickpeas and Lemon

I have had this recipe for awhile now. I got it from a fellow boardie on my Kids Eating Healthy message board and it is wonderful. Please note that the picture is not mine, as many times as I have made this pasta salad I still do not have a picture of it. Maybe that is because it is always gone so fast.

This recipe is from Cooking Light, as is the picture.



1 cup uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions *I tend to omit this
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1 (19-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon cold water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon bottled minced garlic *If I do not have this on hand I have used garlic salt.
***I like to add cucumber to mine.



Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain.

Combine pasta, onions, cheese, dill, and chickpeas in a large bowl, tossing gently to combine.

Combine juice and remaining ingredients in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle over pasta mixture; toss gently to coat.


We love it, so easy, quick and great for a hot summer day!



I am linking this up to Mommy's Kitchen Potluck Sunday.

Antipasto Pasta Salad

I got this recipe from my friend Lynn over at The Life of a Foodie and Her Family. ( www.punkaroonie.blogspot.com ) The first time I made it I followed her recipe to a T, it was super good! The second time we had it my Grandma made it, she bought a different kind of dressing by accident, and dang that was even better!

So here is my recipe take on Lynn's Antipasto Pasta Salad:

3/4 box of multicolored rotini pasta cooked and drained

3 large tomatoes chopped into large pieces

1 package of fresh mozzarella (you can get the chunks and dice them, I found the mozz. pearls at Publix and sprinkled them in)

1 can of black olives, drained

1/2 pack of pepperoni ( I used turkey pepperoni by Hormel )

6 slices of salami chopped large ( I used the beef cotto salami by Oscar Meyer )

Croutons (I make my own with half a loaf of french bread. I coat them in olive oil, garlic salt and italian seasoning. Then I bake them on 380 for about 10-20mins)

2 handfuls of parmesan cheese ( I like the Sargento grated parmesan )

3/4 jar of Maries Creamy Italian Garlic Dressing

***I do add diced onions and green pepper, but not to the bowls for my son and husband. They are not onion and pepper lovers like me.

Toss the entire salad together and voila!

My husband and son like to call this 'The Man's Pasta Salad' because it is loaded with meats. My son also loves tomatoes and black olives, so this one is a keeper. We had it again tonight, 3rd time this month. We are in love with this pasta salad!

I'm linking this up to Mommy's Kitchen Potluck Sunday.



Head on over and play along!

Bacon, Tomato & Chive Pasta

I found this recipe years ago in one of my Kraft Food and Family magazines and it has been a staple in our house ever since. It is super easy on a busy night and pretty darn inexpensive too. We love anything cheesy, bacon, pasta and tomatoes so this recipe has all of the right things going on.

What You Need!

8 slices OSCAR MAYER Bacon, chopped ** (I use turkey bacon)
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
1 tub (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Chive & Onion Cream Cheese Spread
1 cup milk
1/2 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese 6 cups hot cooked penne pasta

Make It!

COOK bacon in skillet 5 min. or until bacon is crisp, stirring occasionally. Drain skillet, leaving bacon in skillet. Stir in cherry tomatoes.

ADD cream cheese spread, milk and Parmesan cheese; mix well. Cook until hot and bubbly, stirring frequently.

STIR in pasta.



(This recipe and picture are from the kraft website. Hard to believe I don't have a pic of this one, I make it ALL THE TIME.)

BTW I am posting this recipe because Karly over at www.bunsinmyoven.com is hosting a Bacon Recipe Week this week. Head on over and check out all the yummy baconyness (is that a word?) that she has to offer!

Yummy Steak Stir Fry

Usually my son is not a huge fan of stir frys. Infact he just recently started liking some chinese dishes. Yesterday I made some very delicious stir fry and it was a hit.

Put 2 TBLSP canola oil in a large skillet and heat on med-med/hi

Put 1 package of fajita cut strips of steak in the skillet

Cook until browned

Add 1 package of stir fry mix (I used the Fresh Broccoli Slaw, Broccoli and Snow Pea mix from Publix)

Toss together

Meanwhile mix together

2 TBLSP soy sauce

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 and 1/2 tsp of garlic salt

1 and 1/2 tsp of onion powder

2 tsp of ginger

1 tsp of honey

1 TBLSP of white sugar

Pour this mixture over the veggies and steak in the skillet and stir to coat. Cover and cook until veggies are green and a bit tender then serve.

I served ours over cooked noodles, but you can do rice as well. I also topped mine with a little soy sauce.