Grilled Vegetables and Cheese Tortellini

I found the recipe as per request from the boy who wanted some sort of tortellini dish with a vinagrette and vegetables. Now, I must admit, I'm not a big fan of vinagrettes and I messed around alot with this one until it tasted ok to me. I don't remember the exact changes I made, but I'll note some ingredients you can add to change the taste. You can also buy your own favorite vinagrette dressing.

This is pretty quick and easy!

I loved this recipe because of all the different veggies and flavors and textures. Definitely a summer dish. The original recipe also called for using eggplant, but I replaced that with zucchini. Any summer vegetables will do. I used my grill pan, but you could easily toss these veggies straight onto your gas or charcoal grill. If it's winter, or you don't have any kind of grill, you can always sauté the vegetables as well... the recipe includes instructions for that.

Grilled Vegetables and Cheese Tortellini
from "Whole Foods Market : Recipes : Grilled Vegetables & Cheese Tortellini (with slight modifications)
Serves 2-3
9/10

9 oz. cheese tortellini
4 asparagus spears, tough ends snapped off
1 yellow summer squash, sliced lengthwise about 1/2" thick
1 zuchinni, sliced lengthwise about 1/2" thick
1 red pepper, corred and de-seeded
1 TBS olive oil
1/4 cup pitted black olives, such as kalamata
1/2 - 1 cup baby spinach
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup red wine vinagrette

Red Wine Vinagrette
4 large basil leaves, chopped
3 TBS red wine vinegar (I would suggest replacing half or even all of this with balsamic)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup olive oil (up this if theres too much vinegar)
1 TBS dijon mustard (this adds ALOT of flavor, so go easy)
sea salt, to taste
ground pepper, to taste
*sugar, to taste (to cut the vinegar)

1) Cook tortellini according to package directions, drain and set aside. Whisk together vinagrette if preparing your own.
2a) Grilling Vegetables: Preheat grill to med. heat. Brush vegetables with olive oil. Grill 3-5 minutes on each side, or until veggies are tender. Pepper should be slightly charred when done. Chop up veggies into pieces of equal size.
2b) Sautéing Vegetables: Chop vegetables into bite-sized pieces. Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over med-high heat and sauté veggies until tender.
3) Toss pasta with vegetables, olive, spinach, feta, and vinagrette.

Chicken and Pasta Salad

Also prepared just before leaving for the 4th, I tried this recipe for "Spicy Chicken and Pasta Salad" mostly because I wouldn't need to buy any new ingredients. I had the sour cream from the fajitas, a jalapeño from salsa making, scallions from the dumplings, mayonaise and lemon from my last pasta salad, chicken broth from the penne and ham dish, parsely from just about everything, and vegetables from general salad making.

This was very easy to make and the vegetables were delicious and making them the way this recipe called for, is now my new favorite way to prepare these veggies to go in a pasta dish. The dressing was a bit unexciting and not at all spicy, which I attribute to the lack of a food processor. I also attempted to reduce too little chicken broth. The boy also complained of too much mayo, even though I used less than half of what the recipe called for for the mayo and all of what it called for for sour cream. So in the recipe I'll list what I feel is the appropriate amount of broth, mayo, and sour cream, but feel free to adjust as you see fit. It could also certainly do with a spot of salt and pepper.

This dish was by no means bad, but certainly has room for improvement. A nice light meal that would work just as well chilled as warm. Perhaps letting the flavors mingle in the fridge overnight would enhance the flavor.

Chicken and Pasta Salad
from Prevention's Ultimate Quick & Healthy Cookbook, "Spicy Chicken and Pasta Salad"
Serves 2
6/10

1/2 cup chicken broth (i tried with 1/4 cup and failed)
1 large chicken breast, cut into 1/2 inch strips
8 oz. gemelli pasta
1 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup carrot sticks (I quartered baby carrots)
1/2 cup snow peas
2 TBS fresh parsley
1 scallion, diced
1/4 - 1/2 fresh jalapeño, cut into chunks (depending on how spicy)
1 TBS mayonaise
2 - 3 TBS sour cream
1 TBS lemon juice

1) Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat.
2) Bring the chicken broth to boil in a covered medium sauce pan over high heat. Stir in the chicken strips, return to boil, and reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer, turning occasionally, for 3-4 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Transfer chicken to plate and cover loosely with foil. Increase heat to high and boil broth fro 3-5 minutes or until reduced to a syrupy consistency. Remove pan from heat.
3) Add pasta to boiling water and return to boil. Cook 8 - 10 minutes or according to package directions until al dente. About 4 minutes before the pasta is done, add the broccoli and carrots. One minute before the pasta is done, add the snow peas. Cook until veggies are crispt and tender and pasta is done. Drain and cool under cold running water. Drain again. Transfer to large salad bowl.
4) Combine parsley, scallion, jalapeño, mayo, sour cream, lemon juice, and reduced broth to food processor. Process until puréed.
5) Pour dressing over pasta and veggies, add chicken, and toss to combine.

Stove-top Barbecue

So we invited the boy's friend over for dinner. Having just recieved a portable Weber grill as a housewarming gift, I was eager to try it out. Alas, there were copious amounts of rain so we resorted to cooking the burgers stove-top and roasting corn in the oven. Here was the menu and recipes! We washed it all down with a pitcher of Minute Maid frozen lemonade.

Basic Hamburgers
Serves 3-4

1/2 lb ground sirloin
1/2 lb ground beef (chuck if you can get it)
salt
pepper or hamburger seasonings

1) Combine ingredients without squeezing the meat too much. Form into patties about 1/2 inch thick (should make about 4)
2) Heat a cast iron pan or flat skillet until drops of water sizzle on the surface. Place two patties towards the center. Allow to cook for 3 minutes. Flip and repeat, for medium rare.
3) For medium well/well done, continue cooking for an additional 2 minutes or so on each side. Don't press down on the meat. Test by piercing with a fork. If the meat feels solid and the juices run clear, the meat is done.
4) Serve on toasted buns with a platter of cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion and various condiments.

Melon Salad
Serves 4

1/3 cantelope
1/3 watermelon

Cube, toss, chill, then serve!

Traditional Pasta Salad
from The New Best Recipe's "Macaroni Salad"
Serves 4-6

1/2 lb gemelli pasta, cooked, drained and dry
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1/4 cup chopped red onion
2 TBS chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon mustard
1 TBS mayonaise
2-3 TBS lemon juice (to taste)
2 TBS chopped dill pickles (or sweet, depending on your preference)

1) Combine all ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Add as much mayo as pleases your tastes.

Roasted Corn on the Cob
Serves 3

3 cobs of corn
2-3 TBS olive oil spread, butter, or margarine
salt
pepper
tin foil!

1) Preheat the oven to 350º. Husk and wash the corn.
2) Spread butter liberally over corn and season with salt and pepper. Wrap tightly in tin foil, twisting the ends so butter doesn't drip out.
3) Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cooking corn smells delicious. Unwrap carefully and serve.

Strawberry Shortcake
courtesy of my dear fiancé
Serves 3

1 pint fresh strawberries
~1/2 cup sugar
bisquick
butter
whipped cream

1) Wash and slice strawberries, placing them in a medium sized bowl. Add sugar and mix. Taste to make sure it's sweet enough! If not, add more sugar :) Cover and refridgerate for at least 1 hour, or until juice has gathered at the bottom of the bowl.
2) Prepare biscuits according to Bisquick box. Should take about 10-15 to bake.
3) Place two biscuits in each bowl and butter. Top with strawberries and whipped cream!

Balsamic Chicken and Pesto Pasta Salad

So the pasta salad came out pretty well. I tried to fake it by not actually cooking the sauce and instead mixing the chilled ingredients, but the consistency came out floury from the mix, so definitely take the time to cook the pesto. The Balsamic Chicken was pretty good, but could have used a little more pizzaz. Perhaps it needed more of the herb rub, since the amount given only covered the top of each breast, rather than the entire thing. Served with fresh wheat bread.

Pasta Salad
Serves 2
On a scale of 1 - 10: 8/10 (if prepared correctly)

1/3 packet of creamy pesto sauce mix
1 1/2 TBS milk
1 TBS olive oil spread

1/2 tomato, chopped (or halved cherry tomatoes)
4-5 kalamata olives, sliced thinly
1/4 cup petit pois

2 cups dried gemelli pasta
parmesan cheese

1) Prepare pasta according to package directions. When tender, drain and rinse with cold water until pasta is cool.
2) In a small sauce pan, blend pesto mix, milk, and olive oil spread until creamy. Simmer until thickened, about 5 min.
3) Toss the remaining ingredients with the pasta and sauce. Add parmesan cheese to taste. Chill for optimal flavor.


Balsamic Chicken
(courtesy of greg's mother's custom cookbook)
Serves 2
Scale of 1-10: 7/10

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 clove garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp rosemary

1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1 TBS olive oil
dry sherry or white wine

1) Combine garlic, salt, pepper, and rosemary. Rub chicken with herb mixture and drizzle with olive oil. Cover and refridgerate overnight.
2) Preheat oven to 475ºF. Place chicken in a roasting pan and bake for 10 minutes. Flip the chicken. Add a few splashes of the sherry or wine to help scrape the bottom of the pan. Bake for an additional 10 minutes and repeat.
3) Bake for additional minutes, then remove from oven. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Remove chicken to plate. Stir the remaining liquid and serve over the chicken.