MONDAY RECIPE POST - ITALIAN CHOPPED SALAD

Looking for a main course salad I found this one at Skinnytaste.  To see all the info its host Gina shares, you will find it at this link.

Italian Choped Salad - 2 servings at 271 calories per serving.  

Change or add vegetables (or meat) to suit your own taste.  Of course the calorie count will change with the adjustments.

4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1/2 cup peeled English cucumber, cubed
1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes
Sliced red onion
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
1/2  roasted red pepper (in water), chopped
1 ounce genoa salami, sliced
6 tablespoons shredded part skim mozzarella

Toss the lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion with oil and vinegar.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Top with roasted red pepper, salami and mozzarella.

Serve and enjoy!  

Check out the link above for all the nutritional information.

A very nice salad, thank you Gina!   We added sliced radishes, and as we have leftovers for tonight I am adding sliced garlic stuffed green olives.

MONDAY RECIPE POST - PALEO OVEN-BAKED RIBS WITH CREAMY BLT PASTA SALAD

Two recipes today.  I made them back on the 4th of July when a dear friend visited for the weekend. Gregg was away and she came over to keep me company.  We had a super time talking non-stop and had fun watching the 4th of July Celebration on the Capitol grounds in Washington D.C.  We were both happy for those crowds who stuck it out with the weather being so iffy, but equally happy to be watching in comfort at home. The rain finally stopped and people certainly deserved the great show they had.  Over the weekend my friend and I watched several British cops and robbers shows on Netflix.  Before we knew it the weekend was over and it was time for her to go home.

Paleo Oven Baked Ribs by Jessica DeMay.  You can see her recipe here.

1 tablespoon coconut sugar (I used 1 tablespoon of brown sugar)

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon smoked paprika (I used what I already had.  It wasn't smoked)

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1-1/2 teaspoon Real Salt (I used regular Kosha Salt, again what I had in stock)

1 rack of baby back ribs

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. and line a sheet try with parchment paper (I used a non-stick foil).

In a small bowl combine sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, paprika, black pepper, cayenne pepper and salt. Mix well.

Dry the ribs off and peel membrane off the back if necessary.  Rub down with the dry rub mixture on both sides, rubbing it in thoroughly.  In Jessica's recipe she said you could prepare it the day before but the flavor was still there even if there wasn't any marinating time.  That's true as I didn't do this and it was very flavorful.

Place in your baking pan for 3 hours.

You can grill on the barbecue to give it a charred look, but again I didn't do this and it looked fine to me.  However, if you want the charred look you can do this in the oven on broil for three minutes on each side.

Creamy BLT (Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato) Pasta Salad by Margaret Anne

You can find the original recipe here. 

1 (1 lb.) box bowtie noodles, cooked to package directions

1 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half 

3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 head romaine lettuce, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon spicy mustard

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

When you have drained the cooked noodles, rinse under cool water and drain again well.

In a large bowl combine pasta, bacon, lettuce and tomatoes.  Stir.

In a small bowl, combine sugar, vinegar, mayonnaise, sour cream, mustard, salt and pepper. Whisk until smooth.

Pour dressing over salad and toss until evenly coated.  

Serve and enjoy!

Margaret suggests that if you are making this ahead of time, add the crumbled bacon just before serving so that it will stay crispy.  

Macaroni and Cheese with Sliced Hot Dogs

This should say Penne and Cheese as when I went to look for a box of elbow macaroni in the pantry, all I came out with was a 12 oz. box of gluten free Penne pasta.  The 'gluten free' was a surprise as we normally have regular.  I must have picked up the box by mistake.  

I felt like I was making this for a child again as I also added sliced hotdogs.  Well, big kids enjoy their hotdogs too.  I asked Gregg, would you like hotdogs for a change a couple of nights ago and there were a few left over, so we tossed them into the pasta.  Talk about getting back in touch with your inner child.  It was so good!

Macaroni and Cheese - 4 to 6 servings

12 oz. box of Penne pasta, or you can use elbow macaroni
2 cups grated Cheddar Cheese
4 hotdogs, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 cup buttered fresh breadcrumbs


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Boil the Penne in salted water according to package directions.

In the meantime grease a medium sized casserole dish with cooking spray or a little butter.

Saute the sliced hotdogs until they are nice and brown. 

When the pasta is ready, drain thoroughly and then put the drained pasta back into the pan you used to cook pasta.  It is usually advised to pour cold water over the top of the drained pasta and then drain again, but I am never patient enough to do this step.  

So, now that you have it all back in the pan, mix in the seasoned salt, cayenne pepper and then the grated cheese.  When it is nice and gooey, fold in the sliced hotdogs.  

Now you can put the pasta in your casserole dish.  

Mix the half cup of milk with the egg and pour that over the top of the pasta.

By this time I have already taken any day old bread, how many slices depends on how big the loaf is (I used three small slices of sourdough this time).  Toss the slices in the blender and press the pulse button until you have relatively fine breadcrumbs.  They don't have to be too fine.  Mix in the melted butter.  Spread the breadcrumbs evenly over the pasta.

Pop in the 350 degree oven and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until nicely browned on the top.

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What did we think of our meal?  Comfort food at its best.  

We had been out for several hours and wanted something fast to put on the table.  Gregg likes to get in the kitchen, which makes it a lot of fun to put a meal together when there is two of us cutting the work in half.  He cooked the hotdogs while I was putting the casserole ingredients together, and he also made the salad.

Salad was whatever we had on hand: lettuce, leftover peas from yesterday's dinner, diced tomatoes and diced sweet red pepper.  He also grilled some onions in a little olive oil, mixes in the veggies and puts this mixture on top of the lettuce.  It is nice and warm and wilts the lettuce a little.  Very tasty and you don't need to add any extra dressing.

I wouldn't alter anything about this meal because it is yummy.  

You can alter the veggies for the salad to whatever your favorites may be.  

You can leave the hotdogs out or add another preferred meat.  

The possibilities are endless.  

I didn't use a recipe as this is something I have been putting together for many years, whenever we have wanted some good old fashioned comfort food.  We never seem to cook it the same way twice.