How To Make The Best Pasta Salad

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I admit I don't eat enough pasta salad but then I come back to my senses and realize how shameful I've been. Shameful because I realize how much I've been missing out on. That is especially true if the pasta salad is super good and delicious.

Take for example this pasta salad my wife whipped up tonight.  Ok, this is why I feel the need to post this immediately because in my opinion pasta salad doesn't get much better than this and I need to share the recipe with you.

Ingredients: 

• 1 bag of Wacky Mac Veggie Spiral Pasta (in my opinion this brand of garden style pasta is the best!) 
• 1/4 cup of Italian dressing (I prefer Full Circle Organic Tuscan Italian Dressing found at Market Street stores)
• 1/4 cup of Mild Cheddar Cheese sliced into small cubes
• Pepperoni (as much as your heart desires)
• 1/8 cup of Parmesan Cheese 
• Suggested add ins: purple onion sliced and black olives sliced

It's very important to remember, that after you mix your ingredients together for the pasta salad, to chill it in the refrigerator for a little bit. Pasta salad is a dish best served cold. 

A funny story and lesson learned, I was working out and my wife asked if I wanted veggies in my pasta salad. I quickly said no because I was so into my workout and didn't bother to ask what kind. She ended up preparing some purple onions to put in hers. Needless to say, at dinner I was reaching over and picking them out of her pasta salad.

Lesson learned because you don't want to do without those because it would be like having a salad at Olive Garden where they didn't add any. It just wouldn't be as good because it enhances the taste 10 fold. She should of been more clear though and asked if I wanted purple onions because I would of said yes on the spot. Any how, that's why they aren't in the picture but it's highly recommended just like this recipe. Oh yeah, one more thing, we didn't have any black olives and I wasn't going to the store for one thing but I've had pasta salad with them in it and it's just as highly recommended! 

Mini Foodie Snacks: Oh So Crispy Wontons

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Don't you just love those little wontons you get on your salad at Pei Wei or any Chinese restaurant for that matter? I just can't get enough of them to be honest with you. While making eggrolls the other day (please see my post entitled: Project Food Challenge: Eggrolls ), I had a simple but great idea. I took some of the eggroll wrappers and cut them into little strips and fried them. They might be simple but damn, they sure do make an unhealthy and delicious snack. So much for my New Years resolution to eat healthier. Gotta love it.

Fruit Pizza: Foodie Snack HightLight Of 2011

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2011 was the year to eat wonderful things whether it was something ordinary or maybe a little more extraordinary. I'm sure it has a fancier name but I'm just going to call this a fruit pizza and it gets my vote for the foodie highlight of 2011. Correct name or not, this was the first time I've had a fruit pizza so I didn't know what it was when it was unveiled at a family get together during Easter Sunday this year.

What's hard to see underneath all that beautiful fresh fruit is a thin cracker like bottom that makes up the crust. That crunchy graham cracker crust, I got to tell you, went perfectly with the softness of the fruit. It's too bad I only had a little bit of this because I would of eaten the whole thing. Better believe that! What was your food highlight of the year? Speaking of year, I wish you a very Happy New Year and may all your foodie wishes come true. Signing off for 2011, see you in 2012! 

One Of The Best Ways To Eat A Waffle

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For some reason, putting a yoke filled egg on top of a waffle with a piece of sausage and drizzling syrup on top makes for a good morning. This syrup happened to be Maple Syrup that was Praline Flavored. Find some if you can, it's some of the best syrup we've had. Also, get yourself a Waring WMK300A Pro Professional Stainless-Steel Belgian Waffle Maker You'll find yourself going back to it more than a regular waffle maker.

Quick, Healthy, & Budget Friendly: Chicken Bean Tortilla Soup with Ro*Tel

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Looking for a budget friendly meal during the week that warms you up? Chicken Bean Tortilla Soup made with Ro*Tel will be happy to do that job. It's hard not to like a cheap meal that works it's magic by satisfying your stomach and your budget.

Ingredients:

• 1     can of Ro*Tel
• 1     can of refried beans
• 2     chicken breasts 
• 1     tsp of jarred garlic
• 1/2  tsp of onion powder
• 2     cups chicken broth

Simmer the chicken breasts on low heat in enough water to cover them for 30 minutes. After they are cooked, let the chicken cool. Then shred the chicken after it's cooled by pulling it apart.

With a large pot, add the chicken broth, refried beans, shredded chicken, Ro*Tel, and add your garlic and finally, the onion powder. Cook on low heat for at least 30 minutes. 

What makes it tortilla soup? That's easy. Break out the tortilla chips and crunch and sop up the juices, along with chunks of savory chicken with a little shredded cheddar cheese thrown into the mix. What a satisfying week day meal! 

Weekend Foodie Snacks: Of Beignets & Cappuccino

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Who says you need to go to New Orleans to enjoy the always satisfying French Donut, also known as the beignet. I might add, who needs to go to a coffee shop (although that's fun too if you can afford it these days) to enjoy a cappuccino. Speaking of cappuccino, I raved about how you can do them at home for a fraction of the price in my post entitled The Secret To Making Coffee House Quality Cappuccino At Home

If you're wondering how I did the beignets, (not exactly from scratch which is why I'm not posting a recipe) but probably almost just as good, look no further than the Beignet Mix by Cafe du Monde (1.75 pound (above).  Speaking of Cafe Du Monde, yes another shameless plug mind you (makes me think of the Garth Brooks song Shameless). I disgress, if you've never been there check out my post about Cafe Du Monde

To summarize, it wasn't a good food weekend. It was just terrible. Who wants to sip cappuccino and eat French Doughnuts covered in sugary sweet powdered sugar. Not me! Has my attempt at sarcasms gone hay wire or is it the wonder drug called caffeine in my cappuccino.  OK, here we go again, that reminds.. I had the privilege and the honor of eating this amazing sky high nacho plate today. Just look at it and if you live nearby I know you're going to go there, yes over here Yucatan Taco Stand  Here's another sip of cappuccino in honor of a post that has more plugs in it than a Elvis hairpiece... long live the King. Thank you, thank you very much.

Weekend Foodie Snacks: German Chocolate Cake

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How appropriate! It's October 1st! The day that marks the start of Oktoberfest, which of course is a German celebration.  Unfortunately, I did not attend any Oktoberfest celebrations and if you don't believe me you can of course check my blood alcohol level for any traces of German beer.
Although, I did not celebrate with any German beer, I did celebrate with a piece of German Chocolate Cake (from a bakery) which by the way, needs to be served cold and with vanilla ice cream.  That's a different topic though because I'm wondering, how difficult it would be to do a German Chocolate Cake from scratch. It seems like it would take a little bit more effort than a regular cake with all that fancy German icing. Have any of you attempted to make one of these beautiful German cake creations and could give me input into the process? Is it difficult? Speaking of German Chocolate, if you haven't already, by all means check out my blog of chocolate addiction "The Choco-Aholic" and follow it so we can enable each other to eat more chocolate and dream of German Chocolate Cake.