Giada's Antipasto Salad- BEST EVER

{ image from food network}

I made this salad a few times now and it's always a huge hit. People always want the recipe so I decided to put it up here so everyone can print it or write it down. It's from Giada's Everyday Pasta cookbook but I also found it online at food network. Just click on the link above to view it. I promise you will love it- so give it a try!

Greek Penne with Artichokes- YUMMY!

Everyone must go make this for dinner as soon as possible. Not kidding. It was REALLY good and my family gobbled it up. I was worried they wouldn't like the artichokes but I chopped them up into smallish pieces so it wasn't even an issue. Things I did differently: used the whole container of feta, used bow-tie pasta instead of penne, used a whole stick of butter instead of 3 T., sprinkled hot pepper flakes on my serving(spicey nicey!), and we all sprinkled pecarino romano cheese on our servings. Best parts: fast and easy & no meat!

yummy red beans and rice

First off- homework!
Tonight I made red beans and rice for supper and it was a big hit- everyone finished their whole plate and said it was delicious. We ate it with lots of fruit. Here is the recipe(my own variation of different ones I found online):

2 Tbls. olive oil
1/2 c. chopped onions
1/4 c. red peppers (or green)
2 cloves of garlic- chopped
1 can of black beans- drained (I used spicy)
1 can of diced tomatoes(dump the whole can in)
1 t. oregano
1 Tbls. cider vinegar
1/2 t. salt

I just heated up the oil and sauted the onions, peppers, and garlic in it. Then I added everything else and heated on simmer until my rice was done cooking. I started the rice before I started the bean dish. I suppose it simmered for about 1/2 hour(keep stirring). I served it over brown basmati rice but you can use any kind.

Yummy new recipe!

Tonight I tried a recipe I found at one of my favorite blogs and everyone loved it. It's super easy and inexpensive to make. I made mixed veggies for a side dish so it tasted a lot like chicken pot pie because I mixed everything together on my plate. I also added some leftover rice I had in the fridge to the chicken mixture. The name and recipe: crescent chicken Give it a try!