Some Refreshing Salad Recipes, Part 3!

Last one! Hope you all enjoy!


Ashley's AWESOME Greek Pasta Salad!

• 2 cups penne pasta or your favorite pasta
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cucumber, sliced
• 1/2 cup sliced black or kalamata olives
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese(If you use the kalamata olives use only 1/4 cup of the cheese)

Preparation:

1. Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the pasta, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 8-10 minutes. Rinse with cold water and drain well in a colander set in the sink.
2. Whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Set aside. Combine pasta, tomatoes, onion, green and red peppers, cucumber, olives, and feta cheese in a large bowl. Pour vinaigrette over the pasta and mix together. Cover and chill for 3 hours before serving.

Some Refreshing Salad Recipes, Part 2!

Here's another excellent one!!

Ashley's AWESOME Fruit Salad(1st Variation)

• 6 peaches, peeled, pitted, and chopped
• 1 pound strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and sliced
• 1/2 pound seedless green grapes, halved
• 1/2 pound seedless red grapes, halved
• 3 bananas, peeled and sliced
• 2 Kiwi, diced
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar or sugar substitute(Splenda or Stevia) or less, to taste

    Lime-Ginger Dressing

• juice of one lime
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

Preparation:

Combine chopped and sliced fruits in a large serving bowl; toss gently. Sprinkle with sugar. Whisk together remaining ingredients in a small bowl or 1 cup measure. Pour dressing mixture over fruit and toss gently to combine. Cover and chill  thoroughly before serving.

Serves 10-12 people

Some Refreshing Salad Recipes!

These are some of my favorite Salad Recipes and they are absolutely perfect for these hot, humid, muggy summer days we have been having!! I hope you enjoy these and if you get a chance to try them out I would love to know how they came out for you!!


    Cherry Tomato Orzo Pasta Salad

 

• 8 ounces(1 cup) orzo pasta
• Salt
• 1 pint red cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1 pint yellow cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 8 ounces(1 cup) feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 large cucumber, peeled and chopped
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 2 Tbsp minced fresh oregano
• Juice of a lemon
• Black pepper to taste

Preparation:

1 Bring a large pot of well salted water to a rolling boil. Add the orzo, stirring it so that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Cook, uncovered, at a high boil until al dente, cooked through but still a bit firm. Drain the pasta (it helps to use a fine mesh sieve for this as the small orzo might pass through holes in a colander), and rinse with cold water to stop the pasta from cooking further.
2 Toss the pasta with the olive oil in a large bowl. At this point you can make ahead and chill until you are ready to serve (or transport to a party). Toss with the rest of the ingredients, the tomatoes, feta cheese, cucumber, green onions, oregano, lemon juice, and black pepper. The feta is salty so you shouldn't need to add more salt.

Serves 8-10 as a side.

Welcome!

Welcome to my new and improved Cooking Blog!! My name is Ashley and I currently reside in Montgomery, AL but at the first part of the year(2012 that is!!) I will be moving to Mooresville, NC to begin my long-awaited new and exciting chapter in my life and start up my Personal Chef and Catering Business, Sassy Southern Belle Personal Chef and Catering!!!! I am soooo very excited and I can't wait to see what the future holds for me up there, its going to be very exciting!! I hope that you all will enjoy this new and improved blog, the last one I had got hacked into and I had to close it but  I will continue to post recipes, cooking tips and any special requests you may have on this new one!!!! Take Care and next posting will be up soon!!