Italian Pasta Salad

This recipe is a great one for all of you pasta salad lovers out there!

Ingredients:
9 1/2 ounces cherry tomatoes
1 mozzerella ball (4-5 oz.) (you can use string cheese instead!)
1/2 bunch basil
1 shallot
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and pepper as desired
a pinch of sugar
1 clove garlic
5 tbsp. olive oil
9 1/2 ounces penne pasta

1. Wash and quarter the tomatoes. Dice the mozzerella cheese. Strip the basil leaves from the stalks. Peel and finely dice the shallot.
2. Mix the vinegar with the salt, pepper and sugar. Peel the garlic and press into the vinegar. Beat the olive oil into the dressing with a whisk. Mix the prepared ingredients with the dressing and leave to stand for about 30 minutes.
3. Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling, salted water until 'al dente', then drain, refresh in cold water and drain thoroughly. Carefully stir the tomato and mozzerella mixture into the pasta.

Enjoy!

Oriental Salad

This is a great salad for open houses and other large gatherings of people (as since we are now officially in open-house season, i thought it would be a perfect time to share it!)

***This recipe consists of 3 parts, which NEED to stay seperate until you are ready to serve it***

Part 1:

1 stick of butter
2 packages of Dry Ramen Noodles (no seasoning packets)
1 1/2 cups of Spanish or Dry Roasted Peanuts

Melt butter in a skillet. Brown crushed noodles in melted butter until lightly golden. Add peanuts at end and brown. WATCH carefully as peanuts burn quickly!!!

Drain on a paper towel lined cookie sheet and cool completely, before transferring to a ziploc bag.

Part 2:

16 oz. shredded coleslaw mix
2 large bunches of green onions chopped.

Combine in a large covered bowl.

Part 3:

1/2 cup of sugar

1 tbsp. soy sauce

1/2 cup of vegetable oil

1/4 cup white vinegar

Shake together in a seperate, sealed ziploc bag.

***Remember, keep all parts SEPERATE until ready to serve!!!***

When you are ready to serve, dump it all together in the large bowl RIGHT BEFORE serving. The dressing wont look like enough, but it is.

This recipe is perfect for when you have to travel somewhere, I just pour my onions and slaw mix in a bowl and set the ziploc bads with nuts and dressing inside the bowl on top of the coleslaw. When I arrive, I just dump it all together :D

*For big crowds we quadruple all but the onions! Enjoy!

Someone made this for my open house and it's been in the family ever since!

Smoky Potato Rounds

What you need:

2 potatoes

BBQ sauce*

Shredded Cheese

Bacon

Toppings:

Sour Cream

Green Onions

*you can use Ranch instead

1. Scrub and pierce potatoes. Bake them at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

2. When potatoes cool, cut each potato width-wise into circles. Place them on a greased (or lined) baking sheet.

3. Brush the potatoes with BBQ Sauce; sprinkle with cheese and bacon.

4. Bake 8-10 minutes or until potatoes are tender and cheese is melted.
5. Top with sour cream and green onions.

Mexicana Dip

This has got to be one of my all-time favorite dips. We would get it anually on our way to Grand Rapids, MI. and we just COULDN'T GET ENOUGH :D so we decided to make our own.

Yep, there is only 2 ingredients! All you need is 8 ounces of your favorite salsa* for each 8 ounces of cream cheese that you add.

Mix well (if the cream cheese is softened a bit before hand, it mixes together a LOT smoother) :D

*thick and chunky works best, otherwise it may become runny!

Serve with Tortilla chips :D

Good Morning Biscuits

What an amazing way to start off your morning, or even better yet BREAKFAST FOR DINNER!

You will need:

Refrigerated Biscuits (or your own home-made)

Mozzerella Cheese

Salad Dressing (about 2 tablespoons)

Toppings: Sausage or Bacon, or if you want to be epic, USE BOTH!

Spread the biscuit dough in greased muffin tins. Mix salad dressing, cheese and toppings (You just need enough dressing to make it creamy). Make a depression in the dough, and place mixture inside. Bake biscuits according package instructions. Enjoy!