MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - PASTA SALAD WITH COOKED SHRIMP

 

This recipe comes from The New York Times at this link. There is also a YouTube here where you can watch Melissa Clark put it all together. I had saved an almost identical recipe where the link disappeared. I put a search of the title online and it sent me directly to this one. I enjoyed Melissa’s presentation and looked no further. It had the addition of cucumber which I did not add because I had bought all of the ingredients from the store, but it would have been a nice addition, and will have it next time. Gregg also went to Costco later and surprised me with more already cooked large shrimp, too good a deal to pass up he said and he loves shrimp. It was also a very nice addition but you obviously have to like shrimp. Easy enough to leave them off if you don’t. The salad itself was a stand-alone meal.

The dressing we made was also a little different but I will add the other recipe we used at the bottom of this one. You can choose which one you like best. After thinking blogger had resolved the problem with downloading after being able to do so earlier in the day, this evening I couldn’t - I will try again in the morning as I have one more photo I would like to upload (it worked).

Pasta Salad with Cooked Shrimp - Serves 8 to 10 people 

For the dressing:

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar, plus more to taste

1 garlic, finely grated or minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling 

For the Pasta:

1 pound of short-cut pasta (I am assuming they meant what you buy dried in a box, not home-made - 

we used farfalle, the pretty butterfly shapes)

1 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

8 ounces mozzarella, cubed (or use small mozzarella balls)

4 ounces sliced salami, cut into 1/4 inch ribbons

1/4 cup thinly sliced cucumber

3 tablespoons diced red onion 

1 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley and basil leaves

• 
  
  
  Combine vinegar, garlic, oregano and a big pinch of salt and pepper in a large bowl. Whisk in oil; taste and add more salt and pepper, or vinegar as needed. Set aside.
  
  
  Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions until the pasta is al dente. Drain well, transfer to the large bowl and toss with the dressing while still warm. 
  
  
  Add tomatoes, mozzarella, salami, olives, cucumber and onion to the bowl and toss well; fold in the herbs. Taste and season with more salt, pepper and vinegar if needed to suit your own taste.
  
  
  Drizzle with olive oil and top with cracked black pepper just before serving.
  

  The following recipe is the actual version I tried and wrote things down before the link disappeared.  This is the version I made, slight variations to the above but as we used it, that’s the reason I put it on here.  

  
  

  Pasta Salad 

  1 pound rotini (I used farfalle) - 1/2 pound hard salami, large dice - 1/2 pound fontina, large dice (I used the mozzarella balls) - 1 small red onion, small dice - 2 cups arugula (not a big fan of arugula so I used mixed spring greens) - 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved - 1 cup kalimata olives, halved

   

  Red wine vinaigrette: 

  2/3 cup red wine vinegar - 2 cloves crushed garlic - 2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard - 2 teaspoons salt - 1 teaspoon black pepper - 1 teaspoon sugar - 2 cups vegetable oil (we used extra-Virgin olive oil and I feel it’s important to note that it made a great salad dressing but we didn’t want to pour it all over the salad for maximum saturation. We measured our individual portions of salad at the table and used just enough for our individual tastes). 

  To make the vinaigrette, put all the ingredients, except oil, and blend with a stick blender. We used a whisk. It also suggested you can use a regular blender to mix. Slowly add the oil allowing it to emulsify before adding more. 

  Mix all the salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss with dressing (see my comment in red above). 

  Apparently we are feeding an army again with this recipe. I suggested whittling down the ingredients but my dear other half is confident we can eat this in the next couple of days. Lots of leftovers! We felt on its own it is a total meal. It will be very nice to have something nutritious ready and waiting and not spending a lot of time in the kitchen. It is not as hot as it has been but still quite hot, with showers in the forecast. 

  

  
  

  I have added a few comments made by people on The New York Times recipe.

  
  

  “I make variations of this all the time. One thing I find useful: put half the dressing on the warm pasta then chill the salad a bit then add the rest before serving so that it doesn’t all absorb. It stays bright and the herbs and tomatoes don’t “cook” in the vinegar. I have also gilded the lily with a little balsamic and a sprinkle of parmesan right before serving. Delish.”

  
  

  “Artichoke hearts would be a good addition.”

  
  

  1. “I grated the garlic into the red wine vinegar and let it sit for an hour. Then I strained the garlic solids out and used the garlic infused red wine vinegar which was perfect.”

     
     

     
     

     
     

     Time to pack this machine up for the night. If you have any questions, let me know in the comment section and I will do my best to answer them. 

     
     

     Have a great week everyone and thanks for stopping by. 

     

     
     

     
     

  
  

  
  

MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - SUMMER SAUSAGE AND PASTA SALAD

Another old one made first in July 2011. Once again, I haven't put together any new recipes this week but as I wouldn't mind making this again, I thought I could add it here for you to take a look. 

The weather returned to the low 90s again. It's not letting go of us just yet. I am looking forward to Fall now, always am at this time of the year. I hope by now the weather has been kinder in your part of the world. I have been hearing horrendous stories and am keeping fingers crossed for all of you out there. 

I had been browsing through food blogs online. Unfortunately, the links are no longer available, so there is nothing for you to look up today. At the time I wrote that "this was one of the most flavorful and delicious pasta dishes I have ever had, and you've just about got everything you need in one pot." 

Now to what I wrote in 2011.

You will need a very large pot or mixing bowl to mix all the ingredients. I ended up using the largest stockpot I had and when Gregg came home and saw how much I had made, he asked me which army was coming for dinner! I probably should have made half the recipe, there being only the two of us, but I don't do anything by halves apparently. It was nice to be able to take various friends an evening meal the next day, and they seemed to enjoy it too.  We still had enough for several meals and in the end, I decided to freeze some as an experiment. It thawed out quite nicely and we enjoyed it again a couple of weeks later. You can make it the day before so that the flavors have time to work their magic.

1 16 oz. jar of Zesty Italian Dressing

1 lb. box of Rotelle pasta, cooked, drained and rinsed (I used elbow macaroni because I had a box already in the pantry)

1 medium yellow onion

8 medium celery stalks, thinly sliced

16 oz. package CoJack cheese, cubed (see note below)

16 oz. tube summer sausage, cubed

3 13.75 ozs. quartered artichokes, drained

2 6.5 ozs. cans pitted black olives, drained

2 8.5 ozs. jars julienned sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I forgot to buy fresh Parmesan cheese and used the kind that you keep in your fridge in the green container)

Mix all ingredients well and allow to marinate overnight. You can play around with the ingredients to suit your own taste. Fortunately, we liked everything used.

I would definitely make this again. It would be a great dish to take along to a potluck. Gregg actually had three helpings. He has seconds sometimes but rarely thirds. 

Because I take note of such things, I calculated all the calorie item by item. One cup was approximately 300 calories.

I am not sure if this particular cheese is made overseas, but it looks like this. 

Co-jack is short for Colby-Jack, an American semi-hard marble cheese made by blending orange Colby curd and white Monterey Jack curd together. I know there are other wonderful and delicious cheeses around the world that you can substitute this for. 

That's about all but if there is anything I didn't make clear, let me know in the comment section and I will do my best to answer.

Thanks for looking, have a great week 

and...

MARRY ME ITALIAN SAUSAGE PASTA

It was the interesting title that made me take note, and it certainly was a scrumptious meal. I don’t know much about wines but when wine is called for in a recipe, I usually have a glass at the table. This was the one we tried.

I looked this up on Google to accurately describe this Dry Riesling. It said "it is a crisp, aromatic and mineral-driven white wine from Washington's Columbia Valley, renowned for its bright acidity and excellent balance. It features prominent notes of green apple, lime zest, jasmine and white peach, often with a hint of white pepper or spice, delivering a clean and refreshing finish." Not being a connoisseur of wine, I thought it was a very nice addition to our meal. 

I found the recipe at Salt and Lavender hosted by Natasha. The original recipe can be found here.

Marry Me Italian Sausage Pasta

4 servings

8 ounces uncooked pasta

11 ounces Italian Sausage

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup heavy/whipping cream

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes 

(If you are using sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drain thoroughly. If not julienned, do this before you add it to the pan. This is where we would dice them - see Gregg's note at the bottom. Ours was in oil and already cut up.)

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 small handful fresh basil, chopped or torn

Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese, optional, to taste

Boil a pot of salted water and cook pasta according to package directions (it should be al dente). Save a little of the pasta water in case you need to thin the sauce later.

Meanwhile, take the sausage out of their casings (unless you found some in a roll) and crumble meat into a skillet. Sauté over medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes, or until it is browned all over.

Transfer the sausage to a plate lined with paper towel. If there is a lot of fat left in the pan, discard it all.

Reduce the heat to medium, then add in the garlic and wine. Let it bubble for about a minute or until liquid is reduced by half.

In a small bowl, combine cornstarch with 2 teaspoons of cold water, to make a cornstarch slurry.

Stir in the cream and tomato paste, and once the tomato paste is incorporated, add in the sun-dried tomatoes, oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, and the cornstarch slurry. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Add the sausage back into the pan and cook for a few more minutes until the sauce has thickened to your liking. 

Drain the pasta and toss it with the sauce (add a splash of the hot pasta water prior to draining if you want to thin the sauce a bit).

Serve immediately with fresh basil sprinkled on top, and freshly grated Parmesan Cheese if using. 

The only changes we made was with the pasta. Our host used penne. We always seem to have butterfly in the pantry and that is what we used. Penne will be on the shopping list just for a change of pace next time.

Everything else we followed the recipe. It was excellent. I gave it a 10 out of 10. Gregg gave it a 9 out of 10. He said he would use a different sun-dried tomato next time as he found this a bit too salty. They were sliced but he said they would have been better if they had have been diced (I could see his point. I don’t usually add a lot of salt to our meals.) But all that being said he had seconds.

We had a mixed vegetable salad on the side.

I can't think of anything else but if you have any questions - or tips - please let me know in the comment section.

If you would like to copy and paste the address below instead of using the link I provided, here it is:

https://www.saltandlavender.com/marry-me-italian-sausage-pasta/

Thanks for looking, have a great day 

and Bon Appetit!

MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - ORZO SOUP

 A soup declared a 10 out of 10 by both of us. It turned chilly last week and I suggested a soup. It was delicious and I am glad we made it. We usually only use soups in cold weather, but this will be made all-year round, I'm thinking.

I found it at a food blog called The Clever Meal hosted by Katia. The original recipe can be found here. 

Katia's biography reads in part: 

"I'm the founder, recipe developer and photographer behind The Clever Meal. My goal is to create and share easy and inexpensive recipes with people all over the world. 

The Clever Meal stemmed from my love for simple meatless meals made with everyday ingredients. Not only are beans, pasta and veggies delicious, but cutting out the meat is also great for your health, wallet and the planet. I truly believe that delicious family meals are possible even if you're short on time and have a tight budget."

I highly recommend taking a look at Katia's recipes. We knew we were going to love this one, but didn't realize how much. There are other great recipes we are going to try here.

Orzo Soup

Serves 4 and approximately 203 calories per serving.  

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1 medium-sized onion, diced

1 large carrot, diced

1 large celery rib, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried basil or dried thyme

2 teaspoons flour

4 cups (960 ml) low sodium vegetable broth, add a bit more for a thinner consistency if desired 

1-1/4 teaspoons salt, or to taste (if your broth is salty) 

1 cup (165 grams) orzo pasta

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Add the olive oil, onion, carrot and celery to a large soup pot or Dutch Oven, and sauté over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, or until softened.

Stir in the minced garlic, dried herb (basil or thyme), and the flour. Stir for about 1 minute until the garlic smells fragrant and the flour is combined with the veggies.

Pour in the broth, add the salt (if the broth is not salty), stir well, bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes.  

Stir in the orzo pasta and cook for 10 minutes or following the directions on the package. Keep the lid off and stir frequently (10 minutes was enough for us).

Turn the heat off, stir in the parsley, taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. You might want to add a bit more broth or water if you prefer a thinner consistency.

Divide into bowls and top with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a few cracks of black pepper and grated Parmesan cheese if you like. 

Serve with a favorite crusty bread or roll. 

I didn't have any vegetable broth in the pantry and used chicken broth instead. 

We used thyme as our herb.

We didn't drizzle any olive oil over the top but did add lots of cracked black pepper and sprinkled grated Parmesan at the table.

I always try to remember to share the full address of the recipe website, in case you prefer to copy and paste rather than use the link at the beginning. 

https://theclevermeal.com/orzo-soup

If you try it I sincerely hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - CREAMY TUSCAN SHRIMP NOODLES

I mistakingly posted the recipe for the Thai Meatballs way too early, if you saw and wondered why it suddenly disappeared, I took it off when I realized what I had done. Many apologies and my thanks to all who have commented. You will still be there when it is eventually published. I will do that as soon as I have had a chance to make it, with my own photos and notes.

I am starting this week being a bit discombobulated. If you saw and are interested now, let me know and I will send you the person’s address to their recipe.

In the meantime…

Creamy Tuscan Shrimp Pasta

This is another link that disappeared on me but if you go online and type its title in your search engine, you'll get many different varieties. I haven't found this exact one yet but I'm still looking, and will add later when I find its host. It was fixed for the first time on March 9th and was excellent! We had leftovers for the next day.

The weights were metric but I converted as near as I could to ounces.

250 g (9 ounces) peeled shrimp (we probably had less as we used what we had left in a bag of frozen. It seemed enough though.)

Salt and black pepper to taste

1 tablespoon oil or butter

2 cloves of garlic 

6 to 8 cherry tomatoes, halved

2 handfuls of fresh spinach, washed and drained (I also pick the stems off)

200 ml cooking cream (close to 3/4 of a cup) - there was only whole milk in the fridge but Gregg thinks using cream would take it up a notch. I thought it was very nice without but he is probably right

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for sprinkling over your finished plate at the table

1 teaspoon Italian herbs (or oregano/basil)

200 g (9 ounces) pasta - choice suggestions were penne or spaghetti (we used butterfly 

 

Chili flakes (optional)

Lemon Juice (optional)

Grated Parmesan Cheese (Garnish)

Cook the pasta to package directions until al dente. 

Save 1/2 cup pasta water.

Season fresh or thawed shrimp with salt and pepper. 

Put pan on medium high heat. Add oil or butter. Cook shrimp 1 to 2 minutes on each side.  Remove from pan and set aside.

Make the sauce.

Lower heat to medium. 

Add garlic and cook for 15 seconds.

Add tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes.

Add cream (or milk), the 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese and herbs. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add spinach until it has just wilted.

If needed, loosen with a splash of pasta water (we found this wasn’t needed).

Combine ingredients.

Add pasta, shrimp and toss 30 to 60 seconds.

Finish off with chili flakes and a squeeze of lemon juice. (I added this at the table, along with extra grated Parmesan cheese when I had served myself my individual portion. This is optional). 

Two changes, butterfly pasta and a handful of halved cherry tomatoes. It was all very tasty.

MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - CREAMY BEEF AND SHELLS

I found my dish today on a blog called Organized Chaos.  The original recipe can be found here.  It is not just about recipes, though there are many delicious ones shared. You will also find suggestions on how to organize your kitchen and home improvements. It’s fun to look through.  

(In my photos you will see I didn’t use pasta shells. I used what we already had, which was butterfly pasta (Farfalle). Farfalle (pronounced far-FALL-lay) in Italian, literally means “butterflies”. It is also widely known in the U.S. as bow-tie pasta due to its shape. It’s a versatile short pasta from Northern Italy, often pinched in the middle with ruffled edges, great for sauces and salads, with smaller (Farfalline) and larger (Farfalloni) versions available. I have only seen the Farfalle in our stores, which is our favorite.) 

Creamy Beef and Shells - serves 6

8 ounces medium pasta shells 

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound ground beef

1 small sweet onion, finely diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning 

1 teaspoon dried parsley 

1/2 teaspoons dried oregano 

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika 

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup beef stock

1 (15 ounce) can marinara sauce

3/4 cup heavy cream 

1/4 cup sour cream

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 cup freshly grated cheddar cheese 

Prepare pasta shells according to package directions in a large pot of salted boiling water. Drain and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and cook until browned, about 3 to 5 minutes, breaking it apart with a spoon. Drain any excess fat and set the beef aside.

Using the same skillet, sauté the diced onion for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add minced garlic and cook for about 1 minute until fragrant.

Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, whisking until lightly browned (this will help thicken the sauce). 

Gradually whisk in the beef stock, followed by marinara sauce. Stir in Italian seasoning, parsley, oregano and paprika.

Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce thickens slightly. 

Add cooked pasta and the browned beef back into the skillet. Stir to coat everything evenly in the sauce.

Stir in the heavy cream and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until heated through. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Then stir in the sour cream.

Fold in the grated cheddar cheese and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, until the cheese has fully melted.

Serve the creamy beef and shells immediately. Garnish with parsley (optional but this will add color to your dish). 

Enjoy! 

 

This was a delicious recipe, a 10 out of 10. 

I added a leaf of flat-leafed parsley on top and diced red sweet pepper to not only give the color, but it also tasted great. You can leave it plain as in my first photo. I also sprinkled it liberally with pepper, and I have also been sprinkling turmeric. My dear other half doesn’t like the taste of turmeric, so left that to me.

I don’t do well with any kind of cream but I had whole milk in the fridge. That was a nice substitute.

 I added the following from the original recipe.

Refrigeration: store in an airtight container for up to 3 to 4 days.

Freezing: portion and freeze for a later meal. For best results, thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating. (This is what I intend to do.)

Reheating: warm on the stovetop or in the microwave, adding a little milk or water to refresh the sauce.  (When we reheated the next day, we added a splash of beef broth, which was left over and refrigerated.)

I made double so we would have several meals. 

We had a simple vegetable salad on the side.

Apart from not using the pasta shells, the above were the only other changes I made.

I include the full blog address in case you would like to copy and paste instead of using the link above.

https://anorganizedchaos.com/creamy-beef-and-shells/

Thanks for looking and have a great week.

 

DANGLY EARRINGS

 In a mad moment on a sleepless night (at around 3.00 a.m.), I ordered these.

The lady who makes them had a going-out-of-business sale, and they arrived in the mail a few days ago.

They were for pierced ears (my ears aren't), but I remembered I had converters in a box somewhere, along with a pair of small needle-nosed pliers. I found them and got to work, getting rid of the wires and attaching the converters. They are prettier than the photo shows, but it will give you an idea and this old girl still loves her dangly earrings, says I smiling.

We didn't get as much snow as we were expecting, but hubs found it impossible to clear what we did have off the driveway. There is a thick sheet of ice on top. No melting as it's going to remain bitter for several days, and supposedly more snow next Saturday. We have a steep driveway that can be treacherous -we have a history. Fortunately, we stocked up beforehand.

The sun is shining outside at least, and Sophie Squirrel is doing okay, though she's a wee bit cold! 

The Kissing Bunnies, as you well know, have their love to keep them warm.

I couldn't help but put in a word of the day in the photo above. Son and daughter-in-law sent these.

My grateful thanks to the person who plowed our road early this morning, and for that matter to all who go out in this weather to take care of us and keep us safe. Bless your hearts, you deserve our never-ending gratitude. When we eventually can dig our way down to the road, we'll be ready to get out of here.

What did we do on our snow-bound day? We read, I put this post together and we made our dinner, Creamy Beef with Butterfly Pasta. It was very good and we added a veggie salad on the side. I will share it next Monday.

Take good care of yourselves out there and I hope all is well where you are. Stay safe and warm.

For our international friends, to translate the words on the 5th photo down.

Chionophile.

A person who loves, enjoys or thrives in the snow and cold weather is called a chionophile. From Greek, this term refers to someone who finds joy and peace during winter, particularly when the landscape is covered in snow.

Pronunciation: kye-ON-uh-file.