Summer Spiral Salad

Evening guys, it's Tuesday which means we have another yumtastic recipe for you. This week's recipe is Ma's pick and it's a summertime dish. It's that time of year where grilling is 2nd nature and side dishes served cold are what's normal for week nights. So with that mind set we bring you an antipasti from Ma's "Taste Of Home: One Dish Meals" book. Most people think "Bleh, it's probably like a macaroni salad type thing" and trust me no mayo is in this dish. I swear on my blog mistress heart. So keep your Miracle Whip in the fridge for this one.

Here's what you need:

Summer Spiral Salad
8 servings

4 cups cooked spiral pasta
1 can (15 ounces) garbanzo beans/chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into thin strips
2 ounces turkey salami, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup pitted ripe olives
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/3 cup tarragon vinegar
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
4-1/2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano OR 1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
4-1/2 teaspoons minced fresh basil OR 1-1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1/8 teaspoon pepper

In a large bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Combine oil, vinegar, and seasonings; shake well. Pour over pasta mixed and toss to coat. Cover, refrigerate for several hours or overnight.




So how was this? It was fantastic! It was even better (in my opinion) than last week's recipe. I am even guilty of going back a few hours after dinner and having a small bowl while I was watching "Switched At Birth" (If you haven't seen it you're missing out!) Aw come on, it was only a small bowl and I couldn't help it that's how good this dish is. It was light & tangy. This one is a definite keeper for us. :D.



Tid Bits:
*This recipe calls for the cheese to be cut into strips and placed in the pasta. We didn't do that because when you put cheese in a salad like that for a long period of time it becomes slimy. Slimy cheese = gross blog recipe. So may we suggest that you buy shredded mozzarella to sprinkle on top when you are ready to serve.

*Please do as the recipe says and keep this in the fridge for as long as you can because the colder the pasta the better it tastes but only by fridge standards. No freezing, that would make it...well gross. ha.

*It calls for cherry tomatoes, I really suggest you stick with cherry tomatoes because it has a different taste and texture. When you slice your tomatoes hollow out the seeds because leaving that part in will always make your salad slimy.



Ma's Spot: Now that the weather is warmer we're trying to do a lot more cooler dishes and I think this one is perfect for the summer. It's also perfect to take out on an outing because there is no mayo (Dinah: LIKE I PROMISED! See, ha!). So I cooked it ahead and put it in the fridge overnight. When I got home from work on this hot Tuesday it was a nice cold dish to have. I also buttered up some pita bread and grilled it up and it made a wonderful companion to this dish. So have this dish with a nice tall glass of cool lemonade and enjoy!




*SNACK CORNER:*

It's time for snack corner! Where we take new snacks in the grocery store and break it down for you. We tell you which are hot and which are not. Let's get to this week's picks:



Dinah: This week we are putting the spotlight on Nestle's Skinny Cow Dreamy Clusters. Being a fan of the Weight Watchers plan I've become very familiar with Skinny Cow. Her and myself have become good friends. I can already hear the diet haters booing at this item but I beg of your diet hating hearts give this one a chance cause it's quite a treat. The chocolate is creamy, the caramel is salty, and they come in a package with just enough to give you your fill of chocolate without all the guilt later. 120 calories? Sign me up! Also, I left the price in the picture. Tacky? Yes, but I wanted to show you can get healthy snacks for not a lot of money. I picked those up at Kroger's checkout (next to the candy bars). They also sell them in the box form but I haven't picked those up yet so I don't want to give out a price or quantity without the actual knowledge of it. So these are a definite good buy.


Ma: I have been buying this Skinny Cow items for quite a while now. I absolutely love them. I even buy them when I don't have a coupon. Let me tell you ladies for me to buy something without a coupon or even a sale tag means I like it a lot. I also encourage you to pick up their peanut butter bars. They also have Skinny Cow ice cream which I'm addicted to as well. With these I loved the caramel and I like the bite size feel about them. You can just pop them in your mouth and enjoy.



Another week over guys, aw no sad faces. We'll be back here same time same channel next week. It'll be my pick and I'm fresh out of ideas but fear not blog readers I'm on the hunt for something different. Have a great week guys!

Spoons & Spatula's
~Dinah & Ma