Tortellini Salad Or Entree, You Choose

Happy sunny Tuesday to you all!  Are you as excited for warmer weather as I am?  For flowers and gardens and strawberries, fresh tomatoes and peaches and melons and all the wonderful things of summer?   Do you look forward to grilling summer fare?  To eating outside with gentle breezes blowing?  We love eating on our deck, enjoying balmy evenings, listening to the boats on the river.

There is that issue with cooking in the warm weather.  No one wants heavy food that requires turning the oven on and things that have to cook for hours.  That is winter fare.  We want to soak up every moment of daylight, of sun, of time outdoors with the family, playing, eating, laughing.  Recipes that you can make ahead and enjoy!

Today, I am sharing a recipe with you that is perfect for warm weather.  You can serve it as a side dish or as an entree.  It is full of protein, vegetables, pasta - all the good stuff.  And, it is served cold.  Total warm weather perfection.  Do you love tortellini as much as I do?  Makes my mouth water.  You get a bite of tortellini with some tomatoes and a banana pepper.  I want to make this now.

Here is what you need:

1 16 ounce package tortellini, cooked, drained, and cooled (I used spinach, use your favorite)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 cups baby spinach, chopped
1/2 cup pepperoncini peppers, cut in rings (I used banana pepper rings)
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (white kidney beans)
black olives, sliced (optional, use as many as you want)
6 or more Tablespoons fresh Parmesan cheese, grated  (fresh is best)

dressing:

2 Tbsps fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsps extra virgin olive oil

Cook the tortellini according to directions in salted water.    Drain, rinse, and let cool.  Put in a salad bowl.  Add the cherry tomatoes, chopped spinach, banana peppers, black olives, and cannellini beans.

Mix all the ingredients together.  Make the dressing by mixing the lemon juice and EVOO.  Pour over ingredients in the bowl and mix until everything is coated.  I added some fresh cracked black pepper.  Grate fresh Parmesan all over the bowl, as much as you like.  (The more, the better.)

Wowsa, this is a fabulous salad.  You could also add some chicken, tuna, ham, or sliced pepperoni if  you wanted.  This is an excellent side dish or could be eaten as an entree, you decide.  It is SO good.

When there is fresh basil in my herb garden, I will toss in some chopped fresh basil too.  Yummmm.

Actually, this is one of those recipes where you could add a number of your favorite things.  Otherwise, make it like this and it is delicious.  Keep this recipe handy.  You are going to use it a lot this summer.  It's a nice twist on the everyday, ordinary pasta salad.  Keep it refrigerated and you can enjoy it for several days.  I had it for dinner, lunch, and dinner again.  It's that good.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

If you have a complete set of salad bowls and they all say Cool Whip on the side, you might be a redneck.

 Jeff Foxworthy

 

No Bake Cheesecake With Gluten Free Option

Cheesecake.  Have you ever made one from scratch?  Do you find the thought of baking one intimidating?  There is the water bath and all that to be considered.  It does take some time and trouble.   Do you like cheesecake?  I mean, asking that question seems redundant.  The question should probably be is there anyone who doesn't like cheesecake?

Today, I have a simple solution to the dilemma of cheesecake being difficult to make.  This is a no bake cheesecake from the great and powerful Martha.  Stewart that is.  As for the cheesecake, it's amazing.  Our son in love called it superb.  That's pretty good, right?

This cheesecake is gluten free because I used crushed rice Chex instead of graham crackers for the crust.  Just thought I'd throw that in in case you eat gluten free like our other son in love.  Otherwise, it is a creamy, flavorful, easy confection to make.  No baking!  Yes!!!!

You will need a springform pan which is necessary for all cheesecakes.  So if you don't have one, make a trip and purchase a 9 inch springform pan.  You will find many uses for it once you have one in your pantry.  I do use mine frequently.

Martha's cheesecake recipe is for a plain cheesecake.  I felt the need to doctor mine up a bit because I asked Dan what he would like for dessert and he said anything with some chocolate.  Okay, I can do that.  Guess you can tell by the picture this is not a plain cheese cake.

Just look at that.  Don't you want a piece?  I know you do, so here is what you do to make this amazing dessert.

Ingredients

2 packages (20 sheets) graham crackers, crushed  (I used 4 cups rice Chex, crushed)
1/2 cup chopped pecans (I added these to my crust) - optional (not in Martha's recipe)
11 Tbsp butter, melted
2 Tbsp sugar
2 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 14 ounce can (1 1/4 cups) sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 small lemons)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Put graham crackers (or rice Chex) in a large resealable plastic bag, crush with a rolling pin until very fine crumbs form.

Pour crumbs in a medium bowl, stir in sugar.  Add melted butter and chopped pecans and stir until well combined.

Press the crumb mixture into a 9 inch springform pan, spreading it 1 1/2 to 2 inches up the sides of the pan.  Press flat.  Chill crust in freezer at least 20 minutes.

While crust is chilling, make the filling.  Using an electric mixer set at medium high speed, beat the cream cheese in a large bowl until smooth.  Beat in the condensed milk a little at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.  Beat in the lemon juice and vanilla.  Try not to eat it all before you put it in the crust.

Pour the filling into the crust (after removing from the freezer), smooth the top with a rubber spatula.  Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Unclasp sides of pan and remove cheesecake.

Now, how easy is that?  No baking, no water bath, no big crack in the top of the cake when it doesn't bake evenly.  It is not as tall as the cheesecake I normally bake, but who cares?  It is every bit as good and twice as easy to make.

After I poured the filling in the crust and smoothed it, I sprinkled several hands full of sliced almonds all over the top.  You could use any chopped nut you preferred, but the almonds rocked.  Then, I put about 5 squares of semi sweet baking chocolate in a bowl and melted it over simmering water (a double boiler).  I used a spoon and drizzled the chocolate all over the top of the cake.  It looked fabulous, and I put it in the fridge to chill.

When I opened the fridge, there was a box of strawberries looking right at me and they said, "hey, we would make a beautiful topping for the cheesecake."  Yep, I did it.  I took the tops off, put them in a pan, added about 2/3 cup of sugar, mashed some of them with a potato masher to make some juice and simmered them until the juice thickened.  Just let me say, that was a very good decision.  When it was dessert time, we sliced that cake up and spread some strawberry happiness over it.  Wowsa!  Wonderful goodness is all I can say.

Now I really wish I had a piece with some coffee.  You want one too don't you?

Well, get busy.  Make one.  Share it - or don't.  Eat it all yourself if you want.  It's worth it.  Believe me.   Just ask Todd, he said it was top notch.  Todd knows his desserts.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Because you don't live near a bakery doesn't mean you have to go without cheesecake.  Hedy LaMar