Tortellini Salad

 

Tortellini Salad

This is another "it's too hot to cook" meal. Super easy and I wanted to use up a few ingredients from the garden. I was inspired by this tortellini salad recipe by Love & Lemons and I just randomly added stuff that I had already. I also used bottle dressing because I really wanted a super quick meal lol

Ingredients:

- 20oz bag of tortellini

- 2 tomatoes from the garden, diced

- 2 zucchinis from the garden, diced

- 1/2 red onion, diced

- 1 5oz container shaved parm

- 1 14oz can of white beans

- 1 14oz can artichoke hearts, diced

- 1 bell pepper, diced

- 1/2 cup maybe of pepperoncini, diced 

- a few handfuls of an arugula/spinach blend

- 1/2 bottle of Kens Zesty Italian dressing. I don't like it too wet so I added garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and a smidge of cayenne to taste and mixed it into the salad

I just cooked the tortellini, chopped all the veggies and just combined everything. Super fresh and tasty, it would be amazing with some fresh herbs. The zucchini I diced and air fried with a little EVOO/salt/pepper/garlic at 400 for about 6 minutes. 

"Easy" S'mores Bars

 

"Easy" S'mores Bars

These were a huge pain lol. Next time I wouldn't microwave the butter/marshmallow mixture, I'd melt it in a pot like I normally do for rice crispies because it makes it so much easier to stir in. Other then that they are delicious! They do taste like s'mores but they are missing the warm gooey marshmallow that really make it a s'more. I'd make them again though! My husband really liked them, which kinda surprised me. He doesn't like recipes that are "too cute" generally.

Click here for the Easy S'mores Bars Recipe by Our Love Language is Food

Zucchini Corn Salad

 

Zucchini Corn Salad

I forgot to take a picture of this but it's super easy and delicious! I did make a couple of changes though. I switched out the feta for cotija since I have a bag and I'm not a huge feta fan. I also next time would use less oil, there really wasn't a need for that much oil. I also just air fried it at 400 until it started to brown because I don't know how to use Craig's grill lol.

My husband has been growing a lot of zucchini so we've been looking for recipes to use it up. I LOVE this and I'll definitely make it again!

Click here for the Zucchini Corn Salad recipe by Live Eat Learn

Lemon Salmon Pasta with Asparagus and Garlicky Green Beans

 

Lemon Salmon Pasta with Asparagus and Garlicky Green Beans

This pasta was a mixture of these two recipes:

Canned Salmon Pasta by Salt & Lavender

Creamy Salmon & Asparagus Pasta by Salt & Lavender

  I followed the canned salmon pasta recipe, but Walmart was out of fresh parsley, so I used a squirt of the refrigerated tube basil for the freshness. I also added some dried dill because I was worried it would be missing out on flavor. Oh and I also used angel hair pasta instead of spaghetti, I felt it would be a better texture.

  I also wanted to stretch it some so I added a half bunch of chopped asparagus, 1/4 cup of heavy cream and a handful of shredded parm like the 2nd recipe. Next time I would double the 1st recipe because even with the additions, 4 oz of pasta isn't enough for 3 of us. 

  I normally buy steam in the bag green beans, but Walmart was out and replaced it with a giant bag of fresh green beans. So I steamed/boiled/skillet? Cooked the green beans in about a cup of chicken broth, 3 tbs butter, salt/pepper/garlic/dill/tube parsley for about 10 minutes. It was a bit too long so they got a little mushy, but the flavor was super good. After they cooked I tossed them in some leftover lemon zest and the other half of the lemon, squeezed. 

  My teenager also got some garlic toast because teenager. I LOVE this. The freshness of the herbs and salmon with the lemon, and the creaminess of the cheese and heavy cream. Perfection. Plus it's super quick!

Cumin Lime Black Bean Lentil Salad

 

Cumin Lime Black Bean Lentil Salad

Terrible picture, I just wanted to save the recipe before I forgot. It's loosely based on the recipe linked below. I chopped up 4 little cucumbers, 2 bell peppers, 3 jalapenos, 1 pint cherry tomatoes, and 1/4 red onion. I also added 1 can black beans and 1 can of lentils. I forgot I wanted to add some corn, so I'll do that tomorrow. I also forgot to order cilantro so I added some squeeze tube cilantro to the dressing mix. 

For the dressing mix I did 1 tsp oregano, 2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp salt, pepper, a giant glob of jarlic, about a tbs of tube cilantro, 1 lime, 1 tbs dijon and some avocado oil to help it go a little farther. I might add a scoop of greek yogurt when I have a bowl of it tomorrow too just for extra protein.

The flavor is so good! I love the dijon and the extra seasoning. I find sometimes that veggie salads like this can be bland so this is the first time I doubled the seasonings, and I'll be doing that again. 

Click here for the Black Bean Lentil Salad with Cumin-Lime Dressing recipe by The Garden Grazer

Another pregnant bell pepper!

For snack I had some with a side of cottage cheese, really good and filling!

Tomato Pie

Tomato Pie

    We have a ton of tomatoes this summer, so I made some tomato pie. This was only the second time that I've ever had it, but I love it. Unfortunately, no one else in my family does. My son says he doesn't like tomatoes unless it's a sauce, and my husband just didn't really care for it. Oh well, luckily it's just like a once a year thing. I combined these two recipes. Basically I salted the sliced tomatoes and let them sit for like 10 minutes. Then I layered the tomato slices with a bit of cooked bacon between each slice. Then I topped it with the cheese/mayo mixture that had fresh basil!

Tomato Pie #1 

Tomato Pie #2