Summer Tortellini Salad

Do I dare start this up again? It has been so long...Why not? At least I will have a bunch of good recipes in one spot. I got this tasty pasta salad recipe from the Sisters' Cafe blog. I didn't have all of the ingredients and it still turned out great. I used half of a double pack of tortellini from Sam's Club. It seems like it was definitely more than 9 ounces of pasta. I kind of just added the ranch and cheese till it looked nice and coated like I would want it.

Summer Tortellini Salad

Submitted by Amy ~ www.sisterscafe.blogspot.com

Printable Recipe

1 pkg. (9 oz.) uncooked refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini(You can also use dry tortellini. Barilla has a yummy four cheese and Costco has really good tortellini as well)
1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped (I use the equivalent of baby carrots instead)
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
4 green onions with tops, thinly sliced
1/4 cup snipped fresh parsley (or 4 tsp. dried parsley if you don't have fresh...fresh is always best of course, but dried works fine too)
1/2 cup home-made or you're very, very favorite ranch dressing (I tend to skimp a bit on this measurement but 1/2 a cup isn't too much, just trying to be healthy:)
Parmesan Cheese - to taste

*Option - I have added left over Rotissere chicken to this and really liked it

Cook tortellini according to package directions, drain and rinse under cold running water. Place tortellini in a large colander and set aside. Meanwhile, slice zucchini. chop carrot(s). Cut tomatoes in half and slice green onions. Snip parsley, if using fresh. Add vegetables to tortellini. Poursalad dressing over salad. Grate parmesan cheese oversalad. cover; refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Yield: 6 servings

organizing my recipe box and I found...

Tonight I decided I would reorganize my recipe box (since it gets totally rearranged by me and my kids) and I came across my favorite cheesecake recipe.  Now, when I first got married I made quite a few cheesecakes and this was the best.  Unfortunately, it has been a while since I made it!  I think I will have to dig out those spring form pans!  It has a smooth chocolate layer on top with the chocolate chip filling below and a chocolatey crust.  How can you go wrong?  The recipe came from a 2003 Taste of Home magazine, although I have altered it a little.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

2 C vanilla wafer crumbs

1/2 C finely chopped walnuts

1/4 C sugar

3 T baking cocoa

1/3 C butter, melted

Filling:

4 pkgs. (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 C sugar

4 t cornstarch

4 eggs

1/3 C whipping cream

3 t vanilla extract

1 1/2 C miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Topping:

3 squares (1 oz each) semisweet chocolate, melted

1 T butter, melted

1 C powdered sugar

1/4 C whipping cream

     In a bowl, combine the first five ingredients; stir in butter.  Press onto the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a 10 inch springform pan.  Refrigerate for 15 minutes,

     In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth.  Combine sugar and cornstarch; beat on low speed just until combined.  Add the cream, vanilla and chocolate chips,.  Pour into prepared crust.

     Place pan on a baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 60-65 minutes or until center is nearly set.  Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosed; cool 1 hour longer.  (Cheescake top may crack but topping will cover.)

     For topping, combine chocolate, butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.  Slowly beat in cream until mixture achieves spreading consistency.  Spread over cheesecake.  Refrigerate overnight.

     Remove sides of pan.  Refrigerate leftovers.

Oatmeal Cookies

This is my favorite Oatmeal Cookie recipe I have come across and since we made them last night, I thought I would share! I got it years ago from a piano teacher and have been enjoying them ever since. They are great plain or you can add raisins or chocolate chips (my personal favorite). The recipe is also calculated in case you want to make 1 1/2 batches and those numbers are in parentheses.

Oatmeal Cookies

Mix: 1 C shortening (1 1/2 C)
3/4 C brown sugar (1 1/8 C)
3/4 C white sugar (1 1/8 C)
1 t vanilla ( 1 1/2 t)
1 t water (1 1/2 t)
Add: 2 eggs (3)
1 t baking soda (1 1/2 t)
1 t salt (1 1/2 t)
Add: 2 1/4 C flour (3 3/8 C)
2 1/2 C old fashioned oats (3 1/2 C)

Bake at 335 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

yogurt parfaits

Have you ever tried yogurt parfaits? After trying them recently at a church function, I now love them! We went out and bought a big bag of granola and yogurt tub to try it out on our family and were pleasantly surprised to find out that the kids love it too. My kids? No way! But it's true. Just alternate layers of granola, yogurt, and fresh or frozen fruit if you have it. We used vanilla yogurt and honey granola with dried blueberries in it. It's delish! And I am now totally hooked on granola. On another note, I just found my camera this week and am excited to start posting again...hopefully with more pictures!

camp food...indoors

Last night we sort of had an indoor camping night...so fun! So naturally, the food we ate revolved around that theme. You have to try Paula Deen's Sure Fire No Fire Smores!! They are made in the oven and I even like them better than the campfire kind! And of course we had my favorite (thus far) hobo dinner. Everything done in our oven.

Here is the link to Paula Deen's Smores: http://recipes.pauladeen.com/index.php/recipes/view/sure_fire_no_fire_smores/

And here is our campfire bundles (adapted from a recipe I got out of some magazine)

1 large white onion
1 each large green, red and yellow bell peppers
5 red potatoes, sliced about 1/4-1/2 inch thick
1 package fully cooked kielbasa sausage, cut into 1/2 in. pieces
1/2 C butter
salt and pepper

Place vegetables in order listed on three pieces of double layered heavy duty foil (so this recipe makes 3 large pouches). Add sausage and dot with butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fold foil around the mixture and seal tightly.
Grill: Grill, covered, over medium heat for 30 minutes. Turn and grill 30 minutes longer or until vegetables are tender.
Campfire: Place it into the coals. It does not take all that long to cook. Sorry, I can't remember the exact time.
Oven: We cooked it last night at 375 degrees for about an hour and 15 minutes, maybe a smidge longer until the potatoes were ready.

buttermilk #4--bran muffins that are delicious!

I confess I didn't finish off my buttermilk before it expired! But I can share one more buttermilk recipe that I love! Oh, and there is also a buttermilk pie recipe that I have already shared in a past entry. These muffins are not your typical dry, dense bran muffins. They are moist, fluffy and are delicious with a nice pat of butter! Thanks to Robyn Harris sharing it with me back in our missionary days!

Bran Muffins

1/2 C shortening
1 1/4 C sugar
2 eggs
2 C buttermilk
2 1/2 C flour
2 1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
3 C Kellogg's All Bran

Pour 1 C boiling water over 2 C all bran and let cool. Mix all ingreadients together and place in greased muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. This batter can be stored in the refrigerator for two weeks.

buttermilk #3--dill buttermilk bread

Here is a new recipe I tried with buttermilk, and the verdict is....it's . I got it off of recipe zaar. You can see it below or check it out on their site at http://www.recipezaar.com/Dill-Buttermilk-Bread-636 .



Dill Buttermilk Bread



Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder, PLUS
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup fresh dill
2 teaspoons dried dill
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Directions
1Preheat oven to 350 F.
2Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, dill, baking soda, salt and pepper in a bowl.
3Add buttermilk a little at a time until a soft dough forms.
4Turn into a greased 9 inch by 5 inch (2 litre) loaf pan.
5Bake for 50 minutes or until loaf is golden brown.
6Serve warm; reheat when needed.