Summer Salads: Lisa Marotta

Welcome to the party! Every Tasty Tuesday this summer, I'm hosting a Virtual Potluck.  

A gal who loves celebrations as much as--or possibly more than--I do is my friend and Inkling critique buddy Lisa Marotta. You may have caught her last month as Oklahoma Women Blogger's Blogger of the Month. She's known around the web as The Feelings Doctor.  Check out her blog and you'll know why.  

My father claims her dish is the best pasta salad he's ever tasted.  *sniff* I'll pretend he didn't say this when my own pasta salad was available, but I can't.  Whether it's the magic of Marotta or mozzarella, it is certainly delicioso! 

*Mama Mía! Pasta Salad

1 lb Campanelle Pasta (Or you can use plain or tricolor Rotelle)

16 oz Wishbone Robusto Italian Dressing (Robusto has zing! Don’t accept substitutesJ)

1 Large Bell Pepper, or 3-4 Mini Bell Peppers, sliced

1 Cup Cherry Tomatoes, halved

¼ Cup Red Onion, sliced

1 6oz Can Pitted Black Olives

1 8oz Fresh Mozzarella Ball, sliced into bite sized chunks

Prepare the pasta according to the al dente directions.  Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water.  Put in a large bowl, add the Robusto. Set aside.

Slice the vegetables (Pepper,Tomatoes,Onion) and drain the black olives.  Toss together in a small bowl before adding to the cold Robusto pasta.

Refrigerate for at least one hour. The longer you let the pasta marinate the happier you will be with your salad. 

Slice the mozzarella and set aside for later. If you add the cheese too soon it gets hard by the marinating.  Let the pasta and veggies do the soaking first.  While you are waiting try not to nibble the mozzarella even though you will be tempted. 

Mix the yummy fresh mozzarella to your chilled pasta salad before serving.

Magical Meal Suggestion: This pasta salad is named Mama Mia! because when I was pregnant it was a frequent midnight craving. Back then I skipped the marinating and it still tasted good.  It just tasted BETTER in the morning! These days I pair this cold salad with anything hot off the grill, like burgers or chicken breasts or pork loin.  I like to add a fresh green salad and fruit for color. If the grill master wants a break I grab a rotisserie chicken and make it work.  For a second meal: Cut up the left-over rotisserie chicken and add to your salad for lunches or a main dish later in the week. 

 

Friday Favorite: Foodie Friday

 Check me out over on Oklahoma Women Bloggers today. 

I tell you what my kids eat with chopsticks.

After you've mastered my recipe, click here to learn how to use chopsticks.

Happy Friday!

Summer Salads: Dee Dee Chumley

Thanks for dropping by my Virtual Potluck today.  We're partying every Tuesday.

 

I'm so glad you are here so you can meet my friend Dee Dee Chumley.  She's the author of young adult novel Beyond the Farthest Star and one of my critique buddies in the Inklings. Plus, we taught together, so I'm not kidding when I refer to her as the Grammar Goddess.  She also knows a thing or two about the many uses of cream cheese. Today, however, she brought a delicious and healthy salad and margaritas! 

Enjoy.

Light, delicious, and healthy!

Black Bean and Hominy Salad

15-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

15-oz can hominy, rinsed and drained

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

1 small yellow pepper, diced

½ small red onion, diced

1/3 cup fresh, chopped cilantro

1 medium jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

1 tsp honey

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

¼ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp table salt

In medium-size bowl, combine beans, hominy, tomatoes, pepper, onion, cilantro, and jalapeno.

In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice, honey, oil, cumin, and salt; pour over bean mixture and toss to combine. Yields about 6, ¾ cup servings.

You can serve this right away, but it is better after an hour or so or even a day.

Magical Meal Suggestion

This salad goes well with anything southwest or Tex-Mex. You can use it as a side salad with grilled chicken or beef or fajitas or as a topping to tacos or tostados. Serve with chips and salsa and/or queso and—ole—you’ve got yourself a south-of-the-border meal in minutes!

The perfect beverage? Frozen Margaritas!

1 can frozen limeade

1/3 can Triple Sec

Tequila to taste (I use about half a can)

Ice

Lime wedges

Blend ingredients in blender to desired consistency.

Run lime wedge around rim of glasses, dip rims in margarita salt; pour, add lime wedges, serve.

Can’t you just hear the mariachis?

 

Stop by next Tuesday to see what Lisa Marotta is bringing to the party!

Gnomes at Our Chateau

I spent the weekend with gnomes. Alexandra twists the tips of their hats each time she arrives at our chateau. (Okay, it's an old camper ya'll, but it's on a hill, so I call it The Chateau.)

Being so close to nature makes me realize how small I am.

The chiggers remind me that no matter how big I am little things can get to me.

But the gnomes never falter. These little guys work hard.

They also know when to take it easy and add whimsy to the world.

I wish I could harness their magic.

After all, it's their world, too.

Friday Favorite: Miss July

I'm pretty excited that my little blog and I are Miss July over at Oklahoma Women Bloggers. Check us out this month.  While you're there, get to know some of the other Oklahoma bloggers.

Inklings Retreat 2013

I love my writing group and our annual writing retreat at Lake Tenkiller.  This summer was our tenth-ish year to hang out at the lake, eat lots of food, critique works in progress, and laugh. A lot.

photo courtesy of Lisa Marotta

This year Dee Dee Chumley introduced a word tournament.  It's kind of like March Madness, but with a bunch of logophiles instead of athletes  We (okay, mostly I) slung a lot of words around trying to intimidate other players and help Dee Dee with tough-talk dialogue for her next novel. Of course, one can only sound so intimidating when throwing around language like "confabulation" and "diaphanous." But it paid off.  I won with the word "petulant."  (Ironic since I was talking trash, don't you think?) We might have trouble if you tell me you would have voted for Lisa Marotta's word that also made the finals:"serendipity.'

Sometimes we make it to the water to float around and commune with the dragonflies.  This year, a few of us ventured forth and practiced water yoga with Heather Ezell of Hang Zen.  It was awesome. Then we went back to the deck and enjoyed some of my daddy's special sangria--that Kelly helped doctor with OJ--while talking about all things bloggy. I'm already looking forward to our fall retreat!

Pictured below are Martha Bryant, Dee Dee Chumley, Kelly Bristow, Heather Ezell of Hang Zen, Lisa Marotta, and Brandi Barnett.

photo courtesy of Kevin Ezell of Hang Zen yoga

  
 Read more about my ideas about yoga over on Oklahoma Women Bloggers.

Summer Salads: Jennifer McMurrain

Hello, friends! I'm so glad you made our Virtual Potluck Party. We're meeting every Tasty Tuesday this summer.  Today's guest blog is brought to you by Jennifer McMurrain.  Enjoy!

 

I love a good potluck. So when Brandi said she was doing a virtual potluck featuring salads, I knew just what I wanted to make, my Mac Daddy Macaroni Salad. Now I must issue a warning, this is a salad you want to make in moderation, it's definitely not on any diet lists, but it's oh so yummy, you won't be able to help yourself. And you don't need anything to go with it, this salad is a meal in itself, although saltines are a nice addition.

Ingredients:

3 cups uncooked macaroni

1 can sweet peas, drained

10 to 12 chopped green onions

8 oz of cubed cheddar cheese (I like mild cheddar)

1 lb of cubed ham

4 to 6 boiled eggs, roughly chopped

3 heaping spoonfuls of Miracle Whip Light

1 cup Light Ranch Dressing

 

*Author's note: My mother has informed me that I must include cucumber in my ingredient list because it is her recipe. So you can add one peeled, roughly chopped cucumber if you like that kind of thing. I don't. ;o)

 

Directions:

 

1. Cook macaroni per package instructions.

2. Boil eggs.

3. Drain macaroni and rinse with cold water. Pour into bowl.

4. Add peas, green onions, cheese, ham and eggs.

5. Add Miracle Whip Light and Ranch Dressing, to taste. You want it to be kind of tangy. Start with what I have above and then add a bit at a time until desired taste.

6. Chill overnight before serving for best results.

 

And done. My family will eat this for day and then beg for more. It's a quick one bowl meal, that's great for picnics and pot lucks. Enjoy.

One thing I love about parties is meeting new people.  If Jennifer McMurrain is new to you, go visit her over on her blog A Moment of Jen and check out all of her books.