Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Summer Salads Virtual Potluck

Happy Summer!

In honor of the sizzling days when no one wants a light bulb on in the house, much less an oven, I'm hosting a virtual potluck party of summer salads.

Every Tasty Tuesday this summer, one of my blogger friends will drop by with a recipe. 

To get this shindig started, I'll share the recipe of the potluck dish I take to everything. EVERYTHING. Birthday parties, family reunions, grieving families, camping trips. 

My tortellini salad goes in, and I take home an empty bowl.

Now you can, too.

Brandi's Tortellini Salad

package of 3 cheese tortellini (cook as directed on package)
small can of sliced olives
chopped peppers (I like to get one each of red, yellow, and green)
chopped cucumber (remove peel)
cherry tomatoes (optional)
Italian Vinaigrette (avoid the kind with high fructose corn syrup)

Cook the tortellini. Chop the veggies.  Drain the olives. Combine.  Pour the vinaigrette (about half the bottle) and mix until coated. Pasta can't swim so don't drown it.

Special tricks:
Swishing all of the ingredients around in a large freezer bag is easy and makes it portable.

    Complete Magical Meal Suggestions
    I like to eat this as a meal with some crunchy bread and mixed fruit.  I like it cold. My husband prefers it warm. Sometimes we toss in some chopped turkey pepperoni. Also, this versatile super-salad makes a great side dish for any kind of grilled meat. I've served it with pork tenderloin, steak, chicken, brisket, and fish. The photo below shows a recent lunch when I scavenged our fridge for leftovers. Yeah, that's KFC.


    Drop back by next Tuesday to see what Jennifer McMurrain is bringing to the party.






    8 comments:

    1. I will drop by sometime soon. LOVE this recipe, it looks, sounds, and TASTES terrific! Thanks Brandi :)

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Thanks, Lisa! Looking forward to your recipe, too!

        Delete
    2. Love tortellini - this sounds great! Hope to join the party before summer's end, but I'll be checking in next week to see what Jennifer is bringing!

      ReplyDelete
    3. This looks so yummy! I think I will try it out this weekend. :)

      ReplyDelete