Veggie Pasta Salad

I love making this stuff, but I don't get a chance to very often. It is one of those things that you make for a crowd. I get carried away throwing stuff into it so it is hard for me to scale it back! It is great because you can use whatever veggies you love or whatever you have on hand. You can also adjust the seasonings to your taste. I loathe mayo so I use Italian salad dressing as the main ingredient.

Veggie Pasta Salad

3 bell peppers, assorted colors
2 small heads of broccoli
1 bunch green onions
1 bunch celery
3 carrots
1/2 - 1 cup Light Italian salad dressing
Seasoning salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Italian seasoning blend
Crushed red pepper flakes



Directions:
Cook the pasta and run it under cold water until it is chilled. Chop the veggies and toss with the pasta. Add the salad dressing and toss to coat. Season to taste.



This stuff is truly simple to make. It is best when you let it sit for a few hours or overnight before serving to let the flavors blend together. It is also fantastic as leftovers for snacks or portable lunches! I made this for a tailgate and was eating the leftovers all week, and never got sick of it.

Rigatoni with Spicy Sausage and Arugula

I have been a really bad blogger! I have been so busy the past couple weeks I haven't even had time to unload my pictures off my camera, so I apologize for the lack of updating!

On to the food- the only thing I have to say about this is that it was delicious! I ate it for lunch for the next two days and it was just as good as the first time.

Rigatoni with Spicy Sausage-Tomato Sauce, Arugula, and Parmesan
Source: Bon Appetit Magazine, June 2008 via Pachey's Treats

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

2 pounds fresh hot Italian sausage, casings removed

1/2 cup dry red wine

1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes in juice

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes with added puree

8 ounces rigatoni

2 cups (packed) fresh arugula, stemmed

1/2 cup thinly sliced basil leaves

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (I used dried)

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I omitted)

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onion; saute until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Add sausage; cook until browned, breaking up with back of spoon, about 5 minutes. Drain drippings. Add wine, diced tomatoes and crushed tomatoes; increase heat and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 30 minutes to blend flavors, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain.

Stir pasta, arugula, basil and oregano into tomato sauce. Simmer until arugula wilts, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to large bowl. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

I didn't get a good picture of this before we ate, so this is actually my leftovers the next day... oops! I guess that is something I need to work on, because I have made several dishes over the last few weeks and totally forgotten to take photos. And what fun is a blog post with no photos!

Kevin's Birthday Brownies

Kevin's birthday is tomorrow and originally, he had asked me to make him German chocolate cake for his birthday. Then, we ended up scheduling our cake tasting for the wedding (!!!!) for tomorrow. I asked him if he still wanted a birthday cake even though we were going to be cake tasting and he said no, he wanted some brownies instead that he could take to work today (his work is sweet and gives you your birthday as a paid day off). In the past I have made plenty of brownies from the box mixes, but I wanted to try making them from scratch this time.

Baker's One Bowl Brownies
Source: Baker's Chocolate box

Ingredients:
4 squares Baker's Unsweetened baking chocolate
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (I omitted)
I also added some Wilton Halloween sprinkles on top.


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 13x9-inch baking ban with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Grease foil. (I didn't use foil and just sprayed the pan with cooking spray)
2. Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on high for 2 min., or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is melted. Stir in sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add flour and nuts; mix well. Spread into prepared pan.
3. Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. (Do not overbake.) Cool in pan on wire rack. Remove brownies from pan, using foil handles. Cut into squares. Store in tightly covered container.

I haven't tried one yet, but it seems like they were a hit because I got this text message from Kevin a little while ago: "Brownies are amazing!" I asked him to save me one for later and he replied "Good luck everybody is eating them all." Hopefully I will get to try one when we both get home from work tonight, but if not that just gives me an excuse to make another batch!

Thai Chicken Pizza

Lately I have been in a mood for California Pizza Kitchen, which of course we don't have here in southern Indiana. My favorite thing from there was always the Thai Chicken pizza. I know they sell a frozen version in the grocery store but I decided to try and recreate the pizza myself. I thought it was delicious, though it has been so long since I had the original that I don't really have anything to compare it to. Kevin wasn't the biggest fan of the flavors, though he did finish two slices.

Thai Chicken Pizza
Inspiration: California Pizza Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 batch of pizza dough (I used store bought but you could easily use homemade)
1/2 cup of Thai peanut sauce (see previous blog entry for recipe)
1 very large cooked chicken breast, chopped
2 scallions (on my half only since Kevin doesn't like them)
1/2 cup julienned carrots
1/2 cup bean sprouts
1/4 cup peanuts - I bought these to put on the pizza, but ended up forgetting until dinner was over!! :( It was still good without them, though.
1 cup mozzarella cheese
2 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:
Spread pizza dough onto baking surface. Top with sauce, then all toppings except cilantro, and then sprinkle with cheese. Bake 12-15 minutes, then sprinkle with cilantro before serving.

Thai Peanut Sauce

I made this tonight in preparation for tomorrow's dinner, Thai Chicken Pizza. I was planning on just buying a jar of the stuff, but when I looked at Kroger it cost over $6, so I decided to try making it instead. I already had peanut butter and soy sauce so I figured I would just google for a recipe. That I did, and I came up with this recipe from Cooking with Amy.

Perfect Peanut Sauce
Source: Cooking with Amy

1/4 cup peanut butter (natural, no sugar kind) (I only had the regular kind so I used that)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar (I used a bit less than this since my peanut butter had sugar in it)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon or lime juice
1/4 cup coconut milk (lite is fine, if you prefer or substitute water)
1/4 cup water
red chili flake to taste
chili garlic sauce to taste or 1 clove crushed garlic

Optional:
sesame oil
curry paste
rice wine vinegar
fish sauce
grated ginger
shallots sauteed till brown in oil
Worcestershire sauce

Combine all ingredients with a whisk in a small bowl, adding the water last. Pour into a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until sauce begins to bubble and thicken. Experiment with this sauce adding a teaspoon at a time of one of the optional additions and tasting as you go. Serve hot or cold.


I ended up adding a splash of rice vinegar and sesame seed oil to my sauce, and a dash of ground ginger. It smelled and tasted great, so I am hopeful for tomorrow's pizza! I will try to get a picture tomorrow night.

White Chocolate-Macademia-Pretzel Bars

Oh man these cookie bars were AMAZING! I took them to work on Saturday night and my co-workers went through almost the whole pan! I had 3 people ask for the recipe, so I would say that they were successful.

White Chocolate-Macademia-Pretzel Bars
Source: Pillsbury

Ingredients:
1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookies
1 bag (12 oz) white chocolate chips
1 cup coarsely chopped pretzel sticks or twists
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (9 oz)
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup chopped cashews (I used macademia nuts)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 13x9in pan with cooking spray. Break up cookie dough into pan. With floured fingers, press dough evenly in bottom of pan to form crust. Sprinkle 1 cup of the white chocolate chips and the pretzels over dough; lightly press into dough.
2. Bake 16-20 min or until light golden brown. Cool completely on cooling rack, about 30 minutes.

3. In small microwaveable bowl, place 1/4 cup of the white chocolate chips; set aside. In large microwaveable bowl, microwave remaining white chocolate chips and the semisweet chips on high for 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth. If necessary, microwave 30 seconds longer. Stir in peanut butter and cashews. Spread mixture evenly over cooled baked crust. Refrigerate until chocolate is set, about 15 minutes. (It took mine over 30 minutes to set completely)
4. Microwave reserved 1/4 cup white chocolate chips on high for 30 seconds; stir until melted and smooth. If necessary, microwave 10 seconds longer. (I added a few drops of vegetable oil to thin out the chocolate and make it easier to pour) Drizzle over bars. Let stand until set, about 10 minutes. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 6 rows. (I did 5x6 rows)

Overall these were so so good, but very rich! I ate two and got a stomachache, but that was probably a good thing because any more and I would have been at the gym for hours working them off! One thing I might change is to make my own sugar cookie dough from scratch instead of the premade kind, just because I am not the hugest fan of the taste of the Pillsbury sugar dough, but it was a very good shortcut that made these super easy to put together.

Sweet Potato Fries

I have never made my own fries before, usually opting for the Ore Ida bagged fries for a side, so I decided to give it a go. I didn't really follow a recipe for this, but just cut up the sweet potatoes, seasoned them and threw them in the oven for about 45 minutes. I thought they tasted pretty good, but they were not very crispy at all so my fiance didn't enjoy them too much. One thing I did try was adding an egg white to the olive oil I tossed them in, because I read somewhere that this will help them crisp up more, but it didn't seem to do anything for me.

Sweet Potato Fries
2 large sweet potatoes
Seasoning Salt
Thyme
Garlic powder
1-2 Tbs. Olive Oil
1 egg white

Would I make these again? Yep! I love sweet potatoes, and like I said, they tasted great, it was just the non-crispiness of them that wasn't so awesome. I would definitely be a little less lazy and cut the fry pieces much smaller, as I think that might have had something to do with it.