Pasta Salad... Without the Guilt!

Rotini Pasta Salad with Kalamata Vinaigrette


Pasta salad just embodies Summer to me. But as you will find at most festive BBQs in the steamy months, pasta salad is usually loaded down with heavy dressings and fatty ingredients. Not to mention all those carbs in the star of the dish.
I found this alternative in my trusty Cooking Light subscription and added my own twist to make it a Mr. and Mrs. favorite summer-time staple.
Cheers!
MM

Rotini Pasta Salad- Adapted from Cooking Light
The Ingredients:
-1 box Whole Wheat rotini pasta (I use Barilla)
-1 red bell pepper, sliced and chopped
-1 yellow bell pepper, sliced and chopped
-1 small red onion, thinly sliced (I typically only use about a quarter of the onion.)
-1 pint grape tomatoes, washed and sliced in half
-1 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
-3oz. smoked deli turkey, cut in chunks (I always ask my deli counter to chunk the turkey for me. Just tell them you need it for a salad dish).
-1/4 c. Kalamata olives, sliced (you can use whatever olives you have or just omit these)

Dressing:
-3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
-1 large shallot, peeled and minced (you can use red onion if you don't have shallots)
-4 Tbsp. White Balsamic vinegar (regular Balsamic works too)
-2 Tbsp. water
-1 tsp. Dijon mustard
-salt and pepper to taste.

The Process:
-Preheat broiler.
-Cut red bell pepper in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place red and yellow pepper halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten with hand. Broil 15 minutes or until blackened. Place in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 10 minutes. Peel and dice; place in a large bowl.
-Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Add pasta mixture, tomatoes, onion and turkey to peppers; toss well.
-Heat a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add garlic and shallot to pan. Cook 15 minutes or until soft, stirring occasionally.
-Place the garlic mixture, vinegar, and remaining ingredients in a blender; process until smooth. -Pour dressing over pasta mixture; toss well.
-Sprinkle salad with fresh sliced basil.

Sour Cream Biscuits with Rosemary and Cheese

I am a huge fan of biscuits. They just seem to embody everything that is good and tasty about comfort food: a succulent, pipping hot, right-from-the-oven biscuit is a perfect compliment to most meals. So when I was home visiting my family in Arizona, I thought I would whip up a batch for our belated Easter celebration.

I found the original recipe for these drop biscuits when I was enjoying a lazy day of browsing through myrecipes.com. I made a few adaptations to suit our springtime meal of ham and potato salad. I hope these biscuits bring you as much joy in your tummies as they did to my family.

Cheers!
MM

Sour Cream, Rosemary, and Asiago Drop Biscuits (adapted from Cooking Light)
Ingredients:
- 2 C. all-purpose flour (I used half whole wheat flour the first time I made these and they turned out just fine)
- 1 Tbsp. Sugar
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 3 Tbsp. chilled butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 C. shredded Asiago cheese, or Italian cheese blend (I used a mix of Parm, Asiago and Romano)
- 1/2 C. fresh Rosemary, finely chopped
- 1 C. reduced fat milk
- 1/2 C. reduced fat sour cream

Process:
-Preheat oven to 450°.
-Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.
-Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk.
-Cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal.
-Add cheese and onions; toss well.
-Add buttermilk and sour cream; stir just until moist.
-Drop dough by 1/4 cupfuls onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.
-Bake at 450° for 15 minutes or until edges are brown.
-Remove biscuits from pan; cool on wire racks.

Nutritional Information (1 biscuit)
Calories: 146 (29% from fat)
Fat: 4.7g (sat 2.9g,mono 0.8g,poly 0.2g)
Protein: 5.2g
Carbohydrate: 20.1g
Cholesterol: 14mg
Sodium: 406mg