Pesto Orecchiette with Turkey Sausage

I rarely buy cookbooks anymore. The lovely world of blogs, magazines & websites provides enough recipes for me to cook a new dish each night. I’ve recently started a bookmarks folder titled “recipes to make,” now when I am planning a meal I always consult my ever growing list. This recipe from Real Simple was added about a month ago but was only just made the other night. For one, I thought orecchiette was some fancy pasta that was difficult to find. Therefore, when I saw it at World Market {a FAB place for foodies, btw} I picked some up & finally made this dish. Imagine my surprise when I was shopping for the other ingredients at my ghetto Kroger & spotted some orecchiette on the shelf. Oops! Oh well, this recipe was well worth the wait!

I adapted the recipe slightly by using smoked turkey sausage rather than chicken {but only because it was on sale & that’s how I roll.}We served this with corn on the cob & a side salad & it was a perfect dinner. I honestly think you could get away with serving it as a cold pasta salad as well. Obviously, I have never used orecchiette pasta & I think it might be my new favorite. I love the way a little bit of pesto sits inside each piece of pasta. Make this for dinner tonight & I promise it won’t disappoint!

Pesto Orecchiette with Turkey Sausage

Yield: 6 large servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Adapted from Real Simple.

Ingredients:

1 lb orecchiette
1 cup green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup frozen peas
8 ounces fully cooked smoked turkey sausage links, thinly sliced
1/3 cup pesto
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions, adding the green beans and peas during the last 3 minutes of cooking.
2. While pasta is cooking, prepare the sausage according to package directions. {I like mine slightly browned so sliced the sausage & browned in a skillet over medium heat about 5 minutes}
3. Drain pasta & vegetables, transfer to a large bowl. Add sausage, pesto, Parmesan cheese & toss.

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Asian Coleslaw

I love potlucks. To me, it is the perfect opportunity to be introduced to new recipes. I’m definitely not one of those people who gets weirded out over who made what & how clean their kitchen was when they made it. Instead, I want to try a little bit of everything because I think homemade food {especially those that reflect someone’s personality or family} are the best — & isn’t that what pot lucks are usually about?

Our church small group had a pot luck the other night & I signed up to bring a side dish. I love side dishes just as much as I love pot lucks. There are so many different options & I love the way side dishes compliment the main meal. I’ve recently become a big fan of Southern Living {yikes, there goes the last ounce of Yankee in me!} & so I went to their website for a new recipe. This “Peanutty Coleslaw” as they called it, was perfect.  It has just the right amount of dressing which is a little tangy, sweet & spicy all rolled into one. The peanuts add a nice crunch factor that a coleslaw has to have to be exceptional {in my opinion}. Great as a stand alone side dish; I also think this would make a great topping for fish tacos. Of course, I made a few adaptations which are noted below. Enjoy!

Asian Coleslaw

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Adapted from Southern Living's Peanutty Coleslaw recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped green onions
3 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons sesame oil
3 tablespoons reduced fat mayonnaise
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon ginger powder {or fresh ginger if available}
2 teaspoons wasabi paste
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 {16 oz} package shredded coleslaw mix
3/4 cup lightly salted peanuts

Directions:

1. Wisk together first 10 ingredients in a large bowl; add coleslaw mix, stirring to coat. Cover & chill for 1 hour.
2. Before serving, roast peanuts on a cookie sheet under the broiler for about 3 minutes until they begin to lightly brown.
3. Stir peanuts into coleslaw mixture & serve.

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Salted Samoa Bars

With the wedding quickly approaching I have been trying so hard to be “good” when it comes to sweets so I sadly had to forgo ordering any girl scout cookies this year. However, when I came across this recipe for Samoa Bars I knew I had to try them. Fortunately, the perfect occasion, my friend Robin’s birthday celebration at Arrington Vineyards, arose.  I adapted the recipe slightly per some comments that suggested omitting the egg to produce a better shortbread crust. At the last minute I decide to sprinkle sea salt on top. I absolutely love the combo of caramel, chocolate & sea salt & this was no exception. Make these today & please all of the girl scout cookie lovin’ folks in your life!

{much thanks to the Cookin’ Cowgirl who came to my rescue & graciously allowed for me to use her photo when mine was deleted. Give her some love & check out her awesome blog!}

Salted Samoa Bars

Yield: 30 bars

Inspired by the favorite Girl Scout cookie & adapted from 'Baking Bites'

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
3 cups shredded sweetened
12-oz good-quality chewy caramels
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp milk
10 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)
sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F & line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, cream together sugar, vanilla extract, and butter, until fluffy. Reduce speed to low & gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly. Pour crumbly dough into prepapred pan and press firmly into an even layer.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack before topping.

3. While base is cooking, toast coconut at the same time by spreading on a cookie sheet. Check every 5 minutes for burning. Remove when the majority of flakes are a golden color.

4. Place unwrapped caramels in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.

5. Put dollops of the topping all over the shortbread base. Using the spatula, spread topping into an even layer. Sprinkle with sea salt. Let topping set until cooled.

6. When cooled, lift parchment paper from pan & cut into 30 bars with a large knife.

7. Once bars are cut, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate into a piping bag or a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle bars with chocolate to finish.

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Summery Orzo Salad

I featured this on the blog a few months ago but it is too good not to feature again {& this time with the full recipe!}. I got this recipe from the lovely Rachel’s blog In No Simple Language. She does a weekly Menu Monday feature & always posts the best recipes! Plus she is a fellow teacher so my likeness for her grows just because of that

I named this the oh so eloquent “Summery Orzo Salad” because to me it just screams “summer time eatin’.”  It is the perfect accompaniment to any grilled meat & is also always well received at cookouts/pot lucks. I’ve made a few minor adjustments to mine & I want to encourage you to throw in any veggies that you love.

{side note: The lovely SC deleted the most recent photo of this. In this photo I substituted zucchini with spinach, also a lovely vegetable to add!}

Orzo Salad

This cool salad is the perfect accompaniment to any grilled meat. Light & refreshing it will be a hit at any spring/summer potluck!

Ingredients:

1 lb orzo
1 lb heirloom tomatoes {trader joe's has some lovely ones, or substitute grape or cherry tomatoes if needed}
4 oz goat cheese {trader joe's carries a fantastic honey goat cheese that adds a hint of sweetness to this recipe}
1 zucchini, diced & lightly sauteed in a pan.

For the dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp paprika
dash of black pepper
dash of salt
1 tsp minced garlic

Directions:

1. Cook orzo according to package. Immediately drain & rinse with cool water.

2. Spread tomatoes onto cookie sheet & drizzle with olive oil. Broil for about 5 minutes until tomatoes lightly brown & begin to pop open.

3. Meanwhile, mix together all of the dressing ingredients.

4. Once the dressing has been made & tomatoes have roasted, mix together with orzo. Crumble goat cheese with hands or chop with knife & mix into the pasta mixture. {note: the cheese will melt into the dish}

5. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or until ready to serve.

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May Madness {& lots of internet food finds}

May has got to be one of the busiest months of the year for teachers. It’s right up there with August in the amount of time and stress spent related to school. The good news is there are only 13 school days left The bad news {for you, my readers} is that along with the long hours at work comes boring meals thereby leading to boring blog posts. My mom was in town last week & we had a great wedding planning filled week & also managed to squeeze in some amazing eats as well.

• The Standard {we are having our rehearsal dinner here – so excited!}
• Suzy Wong’s House of Yum
• The Smiling Elephant
• The Yellow Porch

What is your favorite restaurant to take out of town guests to?

Last night our church couples group had a cook out & I brought The Pioneer Woman’s Knock You Naked Brownies. These were a huge hit though I must admit mine didn’t have such a lovely layer of caramel in the middle. My version seemed to absorb all the of the caramel, but they were still delicious & I highly recommend them.

When I’m not testing my students, working on report cards, & packing up my classroom I have managed to come across a few fantastic food finds that I want to share with you.

1. Now that the weather is more summer-like I am itching to make this Lime-Crab Soup. I’ll be sure to document it here on the blog when I get around to it.
2. This recipe is quite simple but yet is still appealing to me. Plus I have never cooked with Orecchiette before & it looks delightful. I really must break out of my angel hair pasta obsession.
3. I made this Chicken Tamale Casserole a few weeks ago & just about died & went to heaven while eating it. So simple. So delicious. Make it today. Thank me tomorrow
4. Last but not least, I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for months now. Even though my wedding dieting prevented me from purchasing girl scout cookies, I’d still love to make these homemade Samoa Bars. Now if only someone could post a recipe for thin mints.

What has been your latest internet food find?

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