Pasta Vegetable Salad - special recipe

Fell down on the job and did not post for over a week, so you get two in a row now.  One today and one tomorrow and one for the weekend!


Today I have a quick vegetable salad with a dressing made from Backyard Patch NEW Salt-free Ranch Dressing


We have made a Ranch Dressing for years, but it contained salt, so I spent a couple years perfecting a salt-free version that is as tasty as my original.  And it is the perfect compliment to veggies and pasta.

Pasta Vegetable Salad

1 1/2 cups uncooked tri-color pasta spirals
1/2 cup fresh broccoli florets
1/2 cup cauliflower florets
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/3 cup carrots, sliced thin or julienned
1/4 cup tomatoes, chopped
1/4 to 1/3 cup prepared BYP salt-free Ranch Dressing




Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and rinse with cold water.  Place in a large bowl and add vegetables.  Drizzle the salad dressing over the entire bowl and toss to coat.  Cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours before serving. I like to serve it over spring greens, but you can just serve the pasta salad as it's own dish.

RECIPE THEME

Each month a theme is chosen and a number of recipes on that theme from my massive archive will be shared.  This year we have 12 new topics, different from the topics of last year.  To find the recipes of last year, check out this recipe link or search the blog with the topic Recipe2018. 

You can search the monthly theme by looking for the theme keyword in the search box and it will pull up the recipes on that theme as posted, so look at the bottom of the recipe in each posting for the KEYWORD in the () to search for each  month.  All recipes this year will be tagged Recipe2019 so you can find them all.

The themes are:

Jan 2019 – Chicken and Dumplings (CDumpsJan)

Feb 2019 - Pasta Dishes (PastaFeb)

March 2019 - Edible Flowers (FlowerMar)

April 2019 - Seafood Recipes (SeafoodApr)

May 2019 - Cajun And Creole (C&CMay)

June 2019 - Vegetarian Dishes (VegJun)

July 2019 - Zucchini Recipes

August 2019 - National Mustard Day – mustard recipes

September 2019 - Quiche

October 2019 - Crock Pot meals

November 2019 - Pies

December 2019 - Mocktails

Lemony Two-Bean Salad

This is a great vegetable side dish, but it makes a great salad main dish too.  This is a vegan recipe with protein coming from cannellini beans.

LEMONY TWO-BEAN SALAD

1 lemon, sliced

1 tsp salt

12 oz. green beans, trimmed

2 cloves garlic, smashed

1-15-oz can cannellini beans

red pepper flakes

chopped fresh parsley

chopped fresh lemon balm

Sprinkle sliced lemon with salt and set aside. Cook green beans (trimmed) in boiling salted water until crisp-tender, 5 minutes; drain and rinse. Sauté smashed garlic cloves in olive oil over medium heat, 3 minutes. Add can cannellini beans (drained and rinsed), the green beans and a pinch of red pepper flakes; cook 2 minutes. Pat the lemon slices dry; chop and add to the beans along with some chopped parsley and chopped fresh lemon balm. Season with salt. Serves 4 to 6.

RECIPE THEME

Each month a theme is chosen and a number of recipes on that theme from my massive archive will be shared.  This year we have 12 new topics, different from the topics of last year.  To find the recipes of last year, check out this recipe link or search the blog with the topic Recipe2018. 

You can search the monthly theme by looking for the theme keyword in the search box and it will pull up the recipes on that theme as posted, so look at the bottom of the recipe in each posting for the KEYWORD in the () to search for each  month.  All recipes this year will be tagged Recipe2019 so you can find them all.

The themes are:

Jan 2019 – Chicken and Dumplings (CDumpsJan)

Feb 2019 - Pasta Dishes (PastaFeb)

March 2019 - Edible Flowers (FlowerMar)

April 2019 - Seafood Recipes (SeafoodApr)

May 2019 - Cajun And Creole (C&CMay)

June 2019 - Vegetarian Dishes (VegJun)

July 2019 - Zucchini Recipes

August 2019 - National Mustard Day – mustard recipes

September 2019 - Quiche

October 2019 - Crock Pot meals

November 2019 - Pies

December 2019 - Mocktails

Baked Spinach Herbed Tomaotes - Weekend Recipe

I originally shared this recipe as part of my advent calendar back in 2014. It is very tasty and wonderful with fresh thyme, if you have some (use 1 tsp if you have fresh.)  Makes a great side dish with other vegetable-based dishes or use as an appetizer.

Baked Spinach Herbed Tomatoes 

10-oz fresh chopped spinach, cooked
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
3 green onions, chopped
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
6 Tbls butter, melted
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, more for garnish
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme (1 tsp fresh)
1/8 tsp Tabasco sauce
6 thick tomato slices
ground black pepper

Directions:

Cook spinach, by sautéing in a skillet with olive oil until wilted, then add 1/2 cup water, cover and steam for 5 minutes. Drain well. In a medium bowl, combine spinach, bread crumbs, green onions, eggs, butter, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt, white pepper, thyme, and Tabasco sauce; mix well. Arrange tomato slices in a single layer on a greased baking pan. Sprinkle with black pepper. Mound an equal portion of spinach mixture on each tomato slice. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes.
RECIPE THEME

Each month a theme is chosen and a number of recipes on that theme from my massive archive will be shared.  This year we have 12 new topics, different from the topics of last year.  To find the recipes of last year, check out this recipe link or search the blog with the topic Recipe2018. 

You can search the monthly theme by looking for the theme keyword in the search box and it will pull up the recipes on that theme as posted, so look at the bottom of the recipe in each posting for the KEYWORD in the () to search for each  month.  All recipes this year will be tagged Recipe2019 so you can find them all.

The themes are:

Jan 2019 – Chicken and Dumplings (CDumpsJan)

Feb 2019 - Pasta Dishes (PastaFeb)

March 2019 - Edible Flowers (FlowerMar)

April 2019 - Seafood Recipes (SeafoodApr)

May 2019 - Cajun And Creole (C&CMay)

June 2019 - Vegetarian Dishes (VegJun)

July 2019 - Zucchini Recipes

August 2019 - National Mustard Day – mustard recipes

September 2019 - Quiche

October 2019 - Crock Pot meals

November 2019 - Pies

December 2019 - Mocktails