Summer Recipes

On my moring blog stalk, I came across this post from BigMama. Once again, she is on the blog roll of Jenn, whose friends I pretend to know. ;) Anyway, Big Mama was requesting good summer recipes that don't involve meatloaf, gravy, or frying hot things in oil. I recently made a new-to-me recipe which was quick, easy, and good (according to me, anyway--remember that I'm a picky eater.)

Chicken Bow-Tie Pasta Salad
from Summer 2007 Kraft Food & Family with my own modifications

2 c. farfalle (bow-tie pasta, or as my girls call it--butterflies), uncooked

2 c. fresh broccoli florets (when I made it we were out of broccoli at the moment, darn it) ;)

1 pkg. (6 oz) Oscar Mayer Grilled Chicken Breast Strips (I grilled my own boneless/skinnless chicken breasts and used those)

1 c. halved cherry tomatoes or roma tomato, cut into chunks

1/2 c. Kraft Light Zesty Italian Reduced Fat Dressing (I used the Kraft Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette dressing--MUCH BETTER imho, its why I liked this dish so much)

1/2 c. Kraft Natrual 2% Milk Colby & Monterey Jack Cheese Crumbles (do find the crumbles instead of regular shredded cheese)

1/4 c. sliced ripe olives

1/4 c. parmesan cheese

Cook pasta as directed on package, adding broccoli to the cooking water for the last 2 min of the pasta cooking time; drain.
Toss chicken, tomatoes, dressing, cheese crumbles and olives in large bowl. Add pasta mixture; mix lightly.
Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate several hours until chilled.

I have a habit of trying new recipes and they don't come out quite as I had envisioned. This one was better than expected. Like I mentioned above, I really liked the dressing I used and have since used it in a couple other dishes. This recipe is low cal (350 cal in a 2c. serving) and packs the protein (24 g). If you use the Oscar Mayer chicken breasts strips, there is no "cooking" involved other than boiling the pasta.

I am one of "those" moms who cooks almost every night. I usually have a week or two's worth of meals planned out and grocery shop for what I am making although I usually always 1. forget something I need and 2. buy so much other crap it off-sets the whole meal planning idea. At one point I had even made a spreadsheet listing out all the possible meal ideas and then I would date when I made them last so we wouldn't repeat too often. The initial idea was great, I just didn't use it for long. I still refer to the list, though. In the summer we do a lot of grilling--burgers, chicken breasts, pork in various forms (chops, ribs, etc), and steaks. Yum. In the fall I start breaking out the soup recipes and winter is great for the crock pot. None of my meals are fancy and my idea of a side dish is heating up a can of green beans.

I do get a lot of my recipes from Kraft Food & Family. Heck, they even go so far as planning out a week's worth of meals for you and giving you the grocery list. I usually don't go that far because I cannot eat that many processed products in a week and I like a little more variety. Don't get me wrong, I like the majority of their recipes but I don't feel the need to make 101 meals from mac & cheese.

If you want anymore recipes, just let me know--I love to swap recipes!