August 7, 2011: Thai Pasta Salad Recipe

Wondering what to do with leftovers from my peanut sauce recipe? This side dish is a great way to use them up and pairs perfectly with the beef and mushroom kebabs recipe I shared yesterday.

The ingredients are low volume but that’s because it’s just my husband and I eating at home now that our niece is back in New Mexico. Feel free to double this recipe or even triple it for a larger amount of diners.

BTW, I bought a container of Thai pasta salad from the Safeway deli recently (the night before my new kitchen counter tops were scheduled to arrive and my kitchen was torn apart) and it was barely edible. This version is way tastier and really simple to prepare.

Tip: For a main dish salad, just add shredded chicken.

Thai Pasta Salad

4 ounces fettuccine noodles
2 T. shredded carrots
1 green onion
1 can water chestnuts or bean sprouts, drained
1/3 cup Thai peanut sauce (find my peanut sauce recipe here)
1 T. soy sauce

Cook fettuccine according to directions on the box; drain and rinse with cold water. Slice the green onion on the diagonal. In a medium-sized serving bowl, combine the shredded carrots, onion slices, water chestnuts or bean sprouts, peanut sauce and soy sauce. Mix together then toss in fettuccine noodles. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Serves two.

June 13, 2011: Italian Pasta Salad Recipe

Here’s a filling pasta salad (don’t even try to count the calories!) that pairs wonderfully with grilled fish, chicken, or hamburgers. Serve it on a bed of greens for extra nutrition and garnish with croutons, if desired.

I used radishes instead of red onion in this pasta salad.

Italian Pasta Salad

1/3 cup light mayonnaise
1/3 cup light sour cream
1 t. lemon juice
1 t. Italian seasoning or finely chopped fresh basil
1 t. sugar
½ pound bowtie (farfalle) pasta, cooked according to package directions, drained and cooled
4 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
1 bell pepper (red, yellow, or orange), roasted, peeled, and diced*
2 thin slices red onion, minced

Combine sauce ingredients (mayo through sugar) and mix thoroughly. Add remaining ingredients and toss gently. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

*To roast the pepper, cut in half and remove seeds and veins. Coat skin sides with olive oil. Place both halves directly over flames on a grill, skin side down, until skin is completely charred. Remove from grill and place in a plastic bag. Let “sweat” for a few minutes, then take each piece out of the bag, one at a time, and remove peel. The peel should come off easily.