Throw It Together Thursday: Pasta Salad with Broc & Sun-dried Tomatoes
By Thursday, I’m so beat and delirious. I need an easy dinner to sputter through to make it to Friday. Thank you, Sun Basket, for this amazing recipe. You can…
By Thursday, I'm so beat and delirious. I need an easy dinner to sputter through to make it to Friday. Thank you, Sun Basket, for this amazing recipe. You can whip this delicious penne pasta salad together in less than 20 minutes.
(To serve 2) you need:
7 ounces fresh whole wheat penne
1 ounce sun-dried tomato strips (not in oil)
1 organic red bell pepper
¼ pound organic broccoli
4 or 5 sprigs organic fresh curly-leaf parsley
¼ cup Italian dressing
¼ cup mayo
½ cup grated cheddar
½ cup sliced pitted black olives
I also add: hard-boiled eggs and a little extra cheese (you can never add too much cheese). My daughter adds raisins to hers.
Step 1: Wash the produce.
This girl loves broccoli!
Tip: Put your toddler to work.
This girl loves washing vegetables...and dishes!
Tip: Just serve this dish to your immediate family if your daughter does this.
Hey...what can I say. I don't want to discourage her love of veggies.
TIP: Important to use curly parsley
It's not as easy to chop and wash as Italian, but it has a nice fresh flavor that compliments this dish.
Step 2: Cook the pasta and sun-dried tomatoes (in salted water).
Won't need to cook for more than 5 minutes.
Tip: When you drain the pasta, do so over a bowl, not your sink.
No matter how much you sterilize your sink, it's the dirtiest place in the house. All that steam and hot water can stir up the germs.
Step 3: (While the pasta cooks), chop the veggies.
(Don't let your two-year old participate in this step, no matter how much she insists she wants to.)
Step 4: Mix together the mayo, salad dressing, and a little salt and pepper.
Tip: I'm usually a Hellmann’s mayonnaise girl, but for this dish, a little sweeter variety, like Miracle Whip, is preferred.
TIP: Add a little extra cheese.
And I add the broccoli and pasta first to the dressing because those foods soak it up well.
Tip: Add hard-boiled eggs.
Maybe you have a "manly-man" (haha) in your household who asks, "Just pasta? Where's the protein? Grrrr." I do.
Tip: Don't serve what your toddler has put together.
That's my daughter's idea of Throw It Together Thursday.
Delicious...easy...great summer dish!
And about 780 calories (maybe a little more if you added eggs and more cheese.) And it's good the next day, too.
Happy Eater!
And she's so proud. She takes credit for putting it all together.
