Summer and Spring Fresh Pasta Salads

These salads were inspired by the spring and summer offerings at my local farm stands.  I love visiting farm stands in the spring and summer and getting my hands on the freshest and tastiest pickings.  In the spring I found arugula and asparagus, in the summer I found lots of colorful cherry and mini heirloom tomatoes  and found a way to make them into a fresh, delicious and colorful pasta salad.  Be creative and mix up your own variety of veggies and cheeses to your liking :)  Here's a few of my creations:

Spring Pasta Salad with Roasted Asparagus, Cherry Tomatoes, Marinated Mozzarella and Sundried Tomatoes, Fresh Arugula and Caesar dressing, used Gnocchi Pasta

Spring Pasta Salad with asparagus, arugula, tomatoes, mozzerella and olives

 Roasting the Aspargus

 

Spring:  First I roasted up 1 bunch of asparagus.  Snap off the hard ends and place standing up in a small pot of boiling water, cook for 5 minutes.  Then cut into about 1" pieces and transfer to a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.  Drizzle with a mixture of melted butter and olive oil, and sprinkle on to taste: garlic powder, seasoned bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper.  Roast for about 10 minutes on 400 degrees until golden and lightly crispy, tossing once half way through to distribute all the goodness.  Let cool.  1 container of ripe cherry tomatoes quarted.  Add can of drained olives if desired.
Summer:  I used 1 container of cherry tomatoes quartered and 1 pint of orange mini heirloom tomatoes whole.  
For the mozzarella balls I used the kind marinated in herbs and sundried tomatoes, cut mozzarella balls in half and cut sundried tomatoes into small pieces.
Then  wash and dry 1 bunch of arugula and chop up.  Take 2 containers of marinated mozzarella balls, setting aside the mozzarella marinade to dress the salad.  You can use 1 1lb of any pasta, I used Barilla Celentani.

Mixing in the ingredients

 

  Then put all these lovely ingredients into a very large bowl.  Season with salt and pepper, add a few tablespoons of the marinade from the cheese and creamy Caesar dressing to taste.    Toss all together and you have these fresh pasta salads.  I love the combination of the crisp arugula greens with the soft flavorful mozzarella,  pasta,  and  tomatoes.

Asparagus, mozzarella and tomato

 

Enjoy!

Pulled Chicken Sandwiches with Root Beer BBQ Sauce and Coleslaw

I needed an additional main dish to add to the hamburgers and hot dogs for our labor day BBQ, but I wanted something easy I could prepare the night before.  I found this great recipe on Betty Crocker's website and just made a few minor changes to feed a crowd.  It turned out to be a hit, with barely any left, this will definitely be a keeper.

Recipe
3 Deli Rotisserie Chickens - I found the savory herb flavor - but any will work
1 1/2 cups root beer
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup yellow mustard
4 Tbsp packed dark brown sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp ground ginger
3 cloves garlic, smashed

1 lb purchased good coleslaw - I found mine at Waldbaums Deli
12 assorted rolls, I used Kaiser, Egg with Poppy seeds, Onion, and Potato, sliced in half.

Pull and shred the chicken meat, removing all skin and bones, it will yield about 8-9 cups of chicken.  In a large saucepan, heat all sauce ingredients to boiling over medium heat, stir frequently.  Reduce heat to med-low and simmer about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove the garlic cloves and add the pulled chicken.  Stir until all chicken is evenly coated.  Heat over low heat, stirring until heated through.  If making the night before, cool mixture down to almost room temp, then cover and refrigerate, and it will continue to marinate all night.  When ready to serve reheat on stove top on low heat, stirring,  add to it a couple of squirts of prepared BBQ sauce for extra moistness.  Serve with the basket of assorted rolls and coleslaw for topping ~ the cold,tangy and crunchy coleslaw compliments the sweet and smoky chicken so well!

This batch was made with a combination of leftover roasted chicken and 1 rotisserie chicken (the carrots from the pan were added too)

 



Enjoy!