Pesto Pasta Salad

I'm a big fan of pasta salad...for a number of reasons.  I love salad, but getting my hubby to eat salad regularly is a bit of a chore (sorry hun...but it's true!) and so this is my compromise.  I also like that a little pasta salad goes a LONG way...very good on the budget (things I will need to be mindful of, especially as our BOYS grow...they already nearly eat us out of house and home!).  With my fresh made pesto (check out the recipe!) I decided to make it a Pesto Pasta Salad this time around...here is what I did!

1 cup multi coloured rotini
1/2 cup cucumber, sliced & diced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 cup onion
2 tablespoons pesto

Prepare the pasta according to package directions.  Drain, rinse and cool.  Pour into your serving bowl.

Wash and slice cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and onion.  Add to serving bowl.

Add 2 tablespoons of pesto (or to taste, as you prefer) and mix well.

VERDICT:
This was a great change to our usual pasta salad!  This made enough for us for two meals, so we got to have the leftovers the next day, and it still was just as delicious!  Love the fresh vegetables, it was a nice mix with the pasta...especially those red, orange and yellow cherry tomatoes from our garden :-)

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Welcome!

Just passing along a WELCOME to all of you joining me through my new monthly blog at Okanagan4Kids, called Adventures in Cooking.  I hope you enjoy this month's post and recipe for Summertime Tomato & Basil Pasta. 

I invite you to follow me here at Addicted to Recipes, by joining this site via the button on the left.  And feel free to take a look around at all the recipes posted so far, hopefully some will catch your eye! 

Thank you for stopping by, and please come back soon!

Salmon with Sundried Tomatoes and Capers

We are a family that loves salmon.  We are always looking for new flavours to add to our salmon dishes.  This week I found a recipe that I found in 2001 (yes, I have had the recipe for 11 years and never made it!).  Yesterday was the day! I picked it because my husband has been on a sundried tomato kick lately. 

My husband came home from work last night to me prepping dinner, to which he commented "Wow, looks fancy!" and "I thnk this blogging thing is the best, we are getting spoiled by all these new meals."  I think my responses were along the lines of..."It's not as fancy as it seems" and "Remember I'm going back to work this summer, we might not be as spoiled once I'm working again".  I think I also asked him to win the lottery for us, then I could stay home and cook "fancy" meals all the time, LOL!

Here is the recipe:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

8 sun-dried tomatoes, oil soaked off, chopped

1 tablespoon capers

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste (freshly ground)

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

4 salmon fillets, about 4-6 ounces each

Preheat the broiler (on high) or grill.  I had the rack in the middle of the oven.

Heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat.  Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes.  Add the sun dried tomatoes and capers, season with salt and pepper and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and cook until it has reduced to a syrup, abour 5 minutes, and set aside.

Meanwhile, season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper.  Broil or grill the fish on each side until it is cooked through, about 4-5 minutes per side.

Please each fillet on a plate and spoon the tomato and caper mixture over it.

VERDICT:
We served the salmon with rice and peas.  We enjoyed the flavour of the salmon with the tomato mixture on the salmon, but not mixed with the rice.  The salmon balanced out the flavour of the sauce, but with the sauce on the rice the flavour was overwhelming.  I made the recipe with 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar (which is what the original recipe called for) but my husband and I both agreed that we would reduce the balsamic to 1/3 cup and I would also add a little more salt and pepper.  It was good, and we will have it again, with our modifications!