Sweet Corn Salad

I was planning to make pulled pork tacos for dinner one night last week (I will post that one later) and I needed a side dish.  Normally, we have Mexican Rice or something equally "blah."  I wanted something different, gosh darn-it!  So while I was at the grocery store I noticed all the fabulous looking fresh corn.  Bingo!  But plain old corn sounded like it belonged in the aforementioned "blah" category, so I decided to jazz it up a bit.  

You'll notice in the recipe below that I used a jalapeno pepper.  Sounds spicy, right?  Not really!  If you remove the seeds, the pepper is not nearly as spicy as you'd think and the corn was SO naturally sweet that I actually think the next time I make it I will add more japapeno.

   

Sweet Corn Salad

(recipe by Mary, Quite Culinary)

8 ears, Fresh Corn

1/4 cup Red Onion, finely diced

1 Jalapeno Pepper, seeded and finely diced

12 Grape Tomatoes, quartered

1 Lime, juiced

2 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar

2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 teaspoon Cumin

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add corn and cook for 3 minutes.  Drain and cut the kernels off the cob with a sharp knife.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the lime juice, white wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and cumin.  

While the kernels of corn are still hot, add it to the dressing.  Add jalapenos, red onion and tomatoes to the corn and stir. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or so for the corn to absorb some of the liquid.    Serve hot or cold.  

Veggie Bacon Pasta Salad

I'm really loving pasta salads right now. And see the goat cheese?  It's one of my weaknesses.  I can eat an entire container (or log, in this case) in one sitting.  No kidding.  I like it on crackers, in pasta salads, on hamburgers... I could go on.  


This recipe was inspired by the Lemon Thyme Vinaigrette I used a couple of weeks ago in the Summer Pasta Salad. We ate this as a side dish with Jalapeno Bacon Burgers but you could add some grilled chicken or shrimp and make it a main dish.  

Veggie Bacon Pasta Salad with Lemon Thyme Vinaigrette

(recipe by Mary, Quite Culinary)

2 Tablespoons Fresh Thyme, chopped

1 Lemon, zested

2 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar

3 Garlic Cloves, crushed

5 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 lb Bow-Tie Pasta

1 Cup Frozen Sweet Peas

1 1/2 cups Fresh Snow Peas

1/2 cup Carrots, sliced

3 Green Onions, thinly sliced

6 slices Cooked Bacon, chopped

Goat Cheese, crumbled (optional)

Cook pasta according to package directions, adding sweet peas and snow peas during the last minute of cooking.  Drain.

In a small bowl, whisk together thyme, lemon zest, vinegar and garlic.  Drizzle in the olive oil while continuing to whisk.

Toss the pasta mixture with the carrots, onions, bacon, and vinaigrette.  Top each serving with goat cheese crumbles.  Serve warm or chilled.  

Grilled Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

Oh my goodness, this was simply fantastic!  We almost ate all of it directly off the grill!  The girls smelled it cooking and came running, too.  I intended this to be a side dish along-side some grilled chicken, but obviously it would be a great appetizer as well.   

Asparagus is at its best in Springtime and these spears were incredibly fresh.  The prosciutto was sliced a tad too thick at the deli so it didn't wrap quite as tightly around the asparagus as I would've liked, but the taste wasn't affected one bit! 

I made a balsamic vinaigrette to drizzle on top, but you could use a bottled dressing, as well.   Yummy!

Grilled Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

with Balsamic Vinaigrette
(recipe by ThreeManyCooks)

8 thin slices Prosciutto, cut lengthwise into thirds

24 spears Asparagus, ends trimmed
Olive Oil, for drizzling

2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped

1/3 cup Balsamic Vinegar

2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard

1/4 tsp. Salt

1/4 tsp. Pepper

1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Drizzle asparagus with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Wrap each spear tightly with one slice of prosciutto.

For the dressing whisk garlic, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, salt and pepper together in a bowl.  Slowly whisk in oil.

Grill asparagus over direct heat until prosciutto is crisp.  Be careful not to over cook the asparagus, as it tends to get mushy!

Place spears on a plate and drizzle with vinaigrette.  Serve hot!

Southwest Pasta Salad

Pasta salads are one of my favorite things to make.  They combine two of my favorite things -- pasta and dressing!  The pasta salads I tend to like have tons of flavor and simple ingredients.  As an added bonus, sometimes I can sneak in veggies that my girls otherwise wouldn't eat (tomatoes in this case).  If they're chopped small enough and coated with dressing, somehow they don't notice them and gobble them up.

We have 'taco night' a couple of times a month at our house and this dish has been a perfect accompaniment several times.  I made the dressing a day in advance, so when it was time for dinner all I had to do was cook the pasta, chop the tomatoes and green onions, and take the corn out of the freezer!  So easy!  

Southwest Pasta Salad

(adapted from Cooking Light)

1/4 cup Low-Fat Buttermilk

4 Tablespoons Fresh Cilantro, Chopped

3 Tablespoons Lime Juice

3 Tablespoons Sour Cream

3 Tablespoons Mayonnaise

1 1/2 teaspoons Chili Powder

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Pepper

1/4 teaspoon Ground Red Pepper (if you'd like to spice it up)

3 Cloves Garlic, Crushed

1 cup Orzo Pasta, Cooked

1 cup frozen corn, thawed and drained

2 plum tomatoes, chopped

4 green onions, chopped

In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, cilantro, lime juice, sour cream, mayonnaise, chili powder, salt, pepper, garlic, and ground red pepper.  Set aside (or make ahead and store in the refrigerator).

Cook pasta according to package directions.  In a large bowl place corn, tomatoes and green onions.  Drain the pasta and add it to the large bowl.  Stir to combine.  

Drizzle the dressing over the pasta mixture and stir to combine.  

Summer Pasta Salad

Since I planted what has turned out to be a ton of fresh herbs on my deck, I have been on the hunt for recipes in which to use them!  Fresh thyme is a great addition to a basic lemon vinaigrette in this dish.   


We ate this warm as a side dish with grilled steaks last weekend.  The flavors are bold, so I wasn't sure if my girls would eat it, but they gobbled it up!  There were a few leftovers and I ate it for lunch the next day (cold).  I think it would make a great dish to take to a picnic!

Pasta Salad with Green Beans

(adapted from Cooking Light)

1 lb cooked pasta, such as Fuscilli or Gemelli

2 cups fresh green beans, ends snapped and cut in half

4 Tablespoons fresh Thyme

3 Tablespoons Grated Lemon Rind

2 Tablespoons  Minced Shallots

4 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Parmesan Cheese for garnish

In a large pot of boiling water, cook pasta according to directions.  During last 3 minutes of cooking, add green beans.  Drain pasta and green beans. 

To make the dressing combine Thyme, Lemon Rind, Shallots, Vinegar, Salt, Pepper and Garlic in a bowl.  Slowly whisk in the Olive Oil.

Drizzle the dressing over the pasta and green beans.  Stir to combine.  Garnish with fresh parmesan cheese.

  

Creamy Carrot Pasta

This is so sneaky.  As soon as I saw this recipe I knew I had to make it.  I'm always searching for ways to incorporate veggies into things my girls will eat. They even thought (until I clued them in on the carrots) that it was mac & cheese!   And since I love garlic (nearly) as much as I love chocolate, this hits the spot for the adults in this house, too!

I have a little container herb garden on my deck and thyme is making its debut this year.  Last year I grew basil, rosemary and mint (mainly for Mojito's, of course).  I was so excited to be able to pick a few sprigs of fresh thyme for this recipe, but dried would work just as well.  

Have you ever tried roasted carrots?  They are fantastic!  We have them as a simple side dish quite often.  They lose a lot of their sharp carrot flavor and are sweet and yummy...

I almost didn't include this picture of the carrot puree, mostly because it just looks like baby food.  But I wanted to show how creamy this really is!  All that heavy cream is doing its job.  

Once the carrots are roasted and pureed, they take on a sweet and smooth flavor.  You could even turn this into an entree by adding bacon or diced chicken.

Creamy Carrot Pasta

(adapted from Cinnamon and Spice and Everything Nice)

1 bag of baby carrots (approx. 1 pound)

7 cloves of garlic, peeled

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme, or 1 tsp. dried thyme

2/3 cup of heavy cream

1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1 cup frozen garden peas

1 pound of pasta

1/4 - 1/2 cup milk

Salt & pepper, to taste

In a large bowl, combine carrots, garlic, olive oil, and thyme.  Season with salt and pepper.  Spread on a roasting pan and place in a 400 degree oven.  Bake about 45 minutes, or until carrots are tender.  Toss once or twice during cooking to make sure the carrots cook evenly. 


Cook the pasta according to package directions.  While the pasta is cooking make the carrot cream.  In a blender, puree the carrots and garlic together with the heavy cream and parmesan cheese until smooth.  Place in a large bowl.  Toss in the peas and stir.  


When pasta is done, drain and add to the bowl with the carrot puree.  Toss gently to coat.  Slowly add the milk until all the pasta is evenly coated with the puree and is a nice consistency.