Showing posts with label Pasta Salad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pasta Salad. Show all posts

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Egg On Your Face

Ever heard anyone say "you have egg on your face!"
It usually doesn't mean what you see in the picture here however!  The definition usually goes something like this... often implies that you have made a serious mistake, but more strictly it indicates that something you have done (or some turn of events) has left you looking embarrassed or foolish.
Been there done that!

However, this morning I really had egg on my face.  I had taken the girls to IHop for breakfast.  They love going out for breakfast there when they spend the night with me.  As usual, the breakfast was yummy and the service was great!  On my way out to pay the check however, the waitress stopped me and pointed to my chin and said, "you have a little egg on your face," and handed me a napkin to wipe it with.  I hadn't felt the crumble of scrambled egg on my face, but I sure did appreciate her telling me it was there.

It brought to mind a time when I was working at a physician's office in Warner Robins, Georgia.  I had been at work all day seeing patients and late that afternoon my daughter dropped by.  She took one look at me and said, "Mom!  Why are your eybrows PINK!?!?!"

"What," I said as I ran for the bathroom mirror.  As you can see, I don't look at myself in the mirror very much!  Much to my horror my eyebrows were actually Hot Pink!!  They had been that way all day.  Apparently in my hurry to get dressed for work in the semi dark that morning, I had grabbed a lip liner rather than my eyebrow pencil!  Good Grief!  I quickly wiped the offending stuff off my eyebrows and went out to talk with my friend and the office secretary, Deedee. 

"Deedee, for goodness sakes why didn't you tell me I had pink eyebrows?"  She looked at me totally innocently and said,

"I thought you were just trying something new."  Oh my gosh she had been looking at me all day as had all the patients and the doctor, and nobody had said a word about those atrocious looking eyebrows!  I felt like a complete idiot!!!

Anyway, I am telling you all this to say that if you notice something out of the ordinary like spinach in the teeth, egg on the face or Pink Eyebrows, for goodness sakes say something!  Most of the time I am sure it will be greatly appreciated, and if you happen to run into someone who doesn't appreciate it, just chalk it up and go on.

I just made a great pasta salad, and I want to share the recipe with you.  Pasta salad is great for summer and doesn't have to be laden with mayo or other heavy dressings to be absolutely delicious.

Cook 2 cups rotini pasta until tender and drain and set aside.
Chop finely
    1/2 medium vidalia onion (or other mild onion)
    1 medium sized firm tomato
    3 stalks celery
    1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
and combine in a large bowl.
Add 1/2 cup Caesar Dressing and 2 teaspoons garlic salt and mix thoroughly.

Chill

The kids loved this and they ate it up without picking out the tomatoes they won't eat any other way.  Just make sure you chop the vegetables finely.  You could even add shredded carrots or zucchini to beef up the veggie factor in this salad.  The proportion of vegetables to pasta is significant and you still have that wonderful pasta texture and flavor to enjoy!

Eat up!

God Bless - Peace, Love and Joy

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Bring On The Caffeine

Sleeping at the wheel is a good way to keep from growing old.

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday starting today! If you are driving, watch the traffic and be extra careful out there. I would love to be heading for the water, but it just isn't going to work out right now. Perhaps for Thanksgiving. Between grandparents day, doctors appointments and upcoming eye surgery, I have got to stay close to home this weekend.

Although I am not planning on going anywhere special for this Holiday, I am planning on making brats and kraut for my hubby...his idea of celebrating Labor Day. We are celebrating at home by firing up the grill and having the little ones over. I have already made some potato salad to go along with the dogs and will make some special pasta salad later. I have a friend in Florida who would rather have my home made potato salad than ice cream. In fact, every time I visit, I make it and it isn't unusual for me to find her having it for a bedtime snack. We laugh about it and she just says, "they call me Tater Salad." It is the small memories that are so much fun.

I am planning on stealing a nap sometime today. My little roommate woke up at 4 AM this morning, and was in the kitchen banging cabinet doors and such. I think she was actually trying to wake me up so she would have company. She knew we were planning to go out to breakfast, and she was ready! Sigh... I have just got to find a way of getting her to stay up later than 8:30 at night.

Ashlyn work up at 6:30, and we are off to Denny's for our Breakfast with Ashlyn ritual, but I am not sure I am quite awake enough to eat at this point! Bring on the Caffeine!!

It's going to be a long day.

RECIPE FOR THE DAY




Here's a nice fresh tasting salad which is great for a picnic or barbecue!

SPINACH, TOMATO, AND FRESH MOZZARELLA PASTA SALAD WITH
HOMEMADE ITALIAN DRESSING

2 1/2 cups multigrain rotini pasta (you can use any pasta you like)
Italian Dressing *recipe follows
2 cups sweet grape tomatoes
1 6 ounce package fresh baby spinach
4 ounces FRESH mozzarella cheese, cubed (the quality of your cheese is important)

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat, rinse with
cold water, and drain.
2. While pasta is cooking prepare Italian Dressing. Combine dressing and tomatoes
in a large bowl. Add pasta and spinach; toss well, and top with cheese.

Makes 4, 1 1/2 cup servings.

Calories 450 per serving


Italian Dressing

1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 TBSP chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 TBSP chopped fresh oregano or fresh basil
2 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 Cloves garlic, minced

1. Combine all ingredients, stirring with a whisk.
Yields 4 2 TBSP servings.

Calories 67 per serving