Name: Tortellini Pasta Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 8 min
Yield: 4 main dish serves or 8-10 side dish servings
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons red wine, white wine, or sherry vinegar; 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/4 tablespoon ground black pepper; 9-10 ounces refrigerated cheese tortellini, cooked according to package directions (one regular sized package or 1/2 of a large package); 1/2 cup julienned or diced salami; 1/2 cup julienned or diced pepperoni; 2 canned artichoke hearts, drained and chopped; 1/4 cup kalamata olives, diced; 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienned or diced; 4 ounces mozzarella pearls, diced bocconcini, or diced fresh mozzarella; 1/4 cup julienned fresh basil; salt and pepper, to taste

Tortellini Pasta Salad

June 15, 2018

What’s better than cheesy tortellini with fresh antipasto ingredients? These tortellini pasta salad has all of those components in one bowl. It’s perfect as a main dish or as a side to serve at your next picnic or cookout!

Pasta salad used to be one of those foods that I just did not like. I honestly don’t know what it was about them, unless it was the fact that to me, pasta was something that should be served hot. Also, my mom really never made pasta salad so most of my experience with pasta salad was creamy pasta salads on salad bars that had so much mayo that you could not distinguish their individual ingredients.

As an adult, I’ve discovered a love for pasta salads, though. It could be the fact that they are ridiculously easy to make. It could also be the fact that they are ridiculously easy to serve. I mean, what’s not to love about a cold salad that you just grab from the fridge and dish from the bowl?

Make It How You Want It

The other clear advantage to pasta salads is their adaptability. The pasta salads of my youth were mostly “macaroni salads” (including my grandmother’s macaroni salad, which I honestly do not remember her making but it is delicious). However, pasta salads are definitely NOT limited to macaroni, nor are they limited to only creamy dressings.

My personal favorite pasta salad is the BLT pasta salad that I make that was inspired by a menu item at Southern Star. A friend of mine makes a fantastic bacon ranch pasta salad. And then there is this tortellini pasta salad…

Inspired By Antipasto Ingredients

A few years back I discovered a chopped salad on Smitten Kitchen that was inspired by the ingredients of an Italian sub, one of Philip’s very favorite sandwiches. The salad was hearty and did not disappoint. Every time I buy the ingredients I will eat the salad for at least a week.

I wanted to make something along the lines of that salad but with pasta instead. A tortellini pasta salad seemed to fit the bill because I❤tortellini. I mean, cheesy stuffed pasta, right?

This antipasto tortellini pasta salad is infinitely adaptable. I’m not Italian, but as I was researching antipasto ingredients it certainly seemed like there were few rules. You can use what you have on hand and it is definitely going to be delicious.

I used salami, pepperoni, mini bocconcini (mozzarella balls), sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, a sprinkle of basil, and a tart vinaigrette. Roasted red peppers, chickpeas, prosciutto, marinated mushrooms…there are lots of delicious things you could toss in there. Just let it chill in the fridge for a bit and you have a perfect tortellini pasta salad!

Shared on Meal Plan Monday on Southern Plate!

Mary

Yield: 4 main dish serves or 8-10 side dish servings

Tortellini Pasta Salad

15 minPrep Time:

8 minCook Time:

23 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients

For the dressing

2 tablespoons red wine, white wine, or sherry vinegar
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 tablespoon ground black pepper

For the pasta salad

9-10 ounces refrigerated cheese tortellini, cooked according to package directions (one regular sized package or 1/2 of a large package)
1/2 cup julienned or diced salami
1/2 cup julienned or diced pepperoni
2 canned artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/4 cup kalamata olives, diced
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienned or diced
4 ounces mozzarella pearls, diced bocconcini, or diced fresh mozzarella
1/4 cup julienned fresh basil
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Whisk the vinaigrette ingredients together in a small bowl or shake together in a small jar.
Rinse the cooked tortellini with cold water and allow it to stand until cooled, shaking the colander occasionally to drain the water away.
Combine the cooked tortellini in a large bowl with the remaining ingredients. Pour the vinaigrette over and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. The salad will keep covered in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.

Nutrition

https://chattavore.com/tortellini-pasta-salad/

Grilled Salmon Tacos with Jalapeño-Ranch

June 6, 2018

Grilled salmon tacos are not only delicious, they are dead simple and so quick to get on the table-only about fifteen minutes if you don’t count the time it takes the grill to heat. The jalapeño-ranch dressing that tops them is so amazing that you’ll have to resist eating it all straight from the bowl.

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Oh hey, hi.

Did I mention that I am currently obsessed with my grill. Maybe? MAYBE? Yes, yes, I think I did say that somewhere. Perhaps in my grilled naan bread pizza post?
I have an unnatural obsession with avoiding heating up my house in the summer. Because:

I live in Tennessee and it isn’t even officially summer here but it has been summer-hot for at least a month now.
Electric bill. No explanation needed.

So, starting in May I go on an oven strike that usually doesn’t end until late October. I use my countertop oven whenever possible. I have exactly two baking pans that don’t fit in it so the only time I have to use it is when I am using one of those pans. Needless to say they don’t get a lot of love for the hotter half of the year. I actually wrote a post a while back about my oven strike and how to keep your kitchen cool in the summer.

I’ve been looking for all sorts of things to grill on my new Weber Spirit E-210 grill (and yes, I ordered my grill from Amazon and they sent someone to put it together for me). Of course I’ve done burgers and chicken, but also pork chops, pizza, and nectarines (look for a recipe coming up soon). I have a smoker but I want to try some grill smoking and also grill roasting, which America’s Test Kitchen says is a game-changer in their book Master of the Grill, which I am currently reading like a novel.

I 100% used to think that I hated salmon until I made my friend Becky’s recipe for crispy honey butter salmon, which is pretty much sweet, savory, and crispy heaven on a plate in under 20 minutes. By the way, you don’t need skin-on salmon here but I have found that the easiest way to get wild-caught skin-on salmon here in a land-locked state is frozen. I usually buy Simply Balanced salmon at Target but Becky gets hers from Whole Foods.

So, here we are. I don’t hate salmon. Suddenly I decided that salmon needed to be grilled and put on tacos, and those tacos needed to be topped with jalapeñ0-ranch dressing a la Chuy’s. If you have a Chuy’s where you are, please go just to try the jalapeño-ranch dip (they bring a complimentary basket of chips with the dip to your table). If not, you are just going to have to take my word for it that this dip (which I adapted from a Modern Honey recipe is spot on.

A few tips to get the best grilled salmon tacos possible:

If you are using frozen salmon, make sure it is completely thawed before you grill it.
Brush the salmon with oil before seasoning. You can use a simple salt and pepper seasoning if you want or you can go a little bolder with the Tajin seasoning I’ve used for my grilled salmon tacos. You can order Tajin from the Amazon link above or you can find it in the Hispanic foods section of your grocery store (I have seen it at Walmart and Publix).
Even though you brushed the salmon with oil, you are still going to need a little non-stick insurance. I accomplish this by cleaning the grill once it is hot, oiling the grill, and using a piece of foil under each piece of salmon.
Let the flavors of your grilled fish tacos shine by not adding too many toppings. The fish has plenty of flavor and the jalapeño-ranch will take it over the top. I kept the rest of the toppings to a minimum – just enough for a little color and flavor!

I first wrote about fish tacos years ago, early in my blogging life. I got weird looks when I talked about fish tacos back then and still get them now (my dad looked at me like I had three heads when I mentioned grilled salmon tacos a few weeks ago) but I promise these are delicious and totally worth your time!

Click here to save this recipe to your Pinterest grilling or seafood boards!

This post contains affiliate links. This means that if you click on a link and make a purchase from Amazon, I will make a small commission. This does not affect the cost to you. For more information, please see my disclosures. Thank you for supporting my blog!

Shared on Meal Plan Monday on Southern Bite!

Mary

Yield: 4-6 servings

2 tacos

Grilled Salmon Tacos with Jalapeño-Ranch

15 minPrep Time:

12 minCook Time:

27 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients

For the Jalapeño-Ranch Dressing

3/4 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
2-3 jalapenos, diced (2 if the peppers are large, 3 if they are small)
1/4 cup packed fresh cilantro
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Vegetable or canola oil, for the grill
1 pound skinless salmon fillets (I use frozen)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon Tajin seasoning, or salt and pepper
4-8 corn tortillas (I like to use two tortillas per taco to make them more sturdy)
Pre-made slaw mix (I used broccoli slaw here)
Jalapeño-ranch dressing
Garnishes: chopped tomatoes, cilantro, lime wedges, cotija cheese or queso fresco

Instructions

To make the jalapeño-ranch dressing: Mix all the ingredients until smooth in a blender or food processor. Store in a covered bowl or a pint jar in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Preheat the grill to medium high. While the grill is heating, pat the salmon dry. Brush both sides of each piece with olive oil and sprinkle evenly with Tajin seasoning or salt and pepper (season to taste; you may not use the whole tablespoon).
When the grill is preheated, clean the grill with a brush. Hold a wad of paper towels using long tongs made for grilling. Dip the paper towels into the canola or vegetable oil and oil the grill grates.
Lay a sheet of aluminum foil on the grill. Place the pieces of fish on the grill. Grill for four minutes, flip, and grill for another four minutes. Remove the fish from the grill.
Lay the tortillas on the grill and grill for about 30 seconds per side. Remove from the grill and wrap in foil.
Shred the salmon. Assemble tacos using tortillas, salmon, slaw mix, jalapeño-ranch dressing, and desired garnishes.

Nutrition

https://chattavore.com/grilled-salmon-tacos-with-jalapeno-ranch/

Grilled Naan Bread Pizza with Grape Tomatoes & Basil

May 30, 2018

If you are like me, you can’t get enough grilling in the summer. What better way to hang out in the great outdoors, keep your kitchen cool, and get great tasting food? Grilled naan bread pizza is an easy crowd pleasing weeknight dinner!

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Who’s Responsible for the Grill?

I used to fall squarely into the trap of “men grill and women cook in the kitchen”. I just started grilling last summer, after almost 16 years of marriage. One day I just decided that it was summer and I wanted grilled food and since Philip’s schedule is too crazy for him to do much grilling I was going to have to do it myself!

Our grill went kaput at the end of the summer last year so we just got a new one. Cook’s Illustrated recommended the Weber Spirit E-310, but since it is just the two of us we decided that we didn’t need three burners. We went for the two-burner Weber E-210 instead and it has been great so far!

Grill All the Foods!

Speaking of Cook’s Illustrated, I got an America’s Test Kitchen book, Master of the Grill, to help me with cook times and ideas for the grill. I am sure that you will see me refer to it plenty of times over the summer! I have been putting everything I can think of on the grill. I make it a goal to never turn on my oven from May to October because it is so hot here. Grilling helps me accomplish that goal (I occasionally break the rule if I need to bake something in a pan that is too big to fit in my countertop oven).

Grilled Naan Bread Pizza

Costco sells giant packages of naan bread in the bakery section for just a few bucks and I love the stuff (if you happen to think ahead, though, this is an amazing recipe for homemade naan bread). I prefer it to storebought pita bread for dipping into hummus, and of course it is amazing with homemade curries (this butter chicken from HalfBaked Harvest is one of my personal favorites).

One of my very favorite ways to use this naan bread, though, is grilled naan bread pizza. I mean, what’s not to love about something that is (a) pizza; and (b) thrown together in less than 10 minutes on the grill? As in, you literally assemble it on the grill? Mine has grape tomatoes and basil, but you can customize this anyway you want.

Tips for Perfect Grilled Naan Bread Pizza

Don’t grill too hot! I preheated my grill to medium and honestly, I could have turned the heat down a little bit more and been in good shape
Get your ingredients ready before you put the pizzas on the grill. Once those bread rounds hit the grates, this is all going to go very quickly! I like to put everything in individual bowls and transport them on a cookie sheet to the grill.
Use plenty of oil! I clean my grill with a brush once it gets hot then I oil the grates with a wad of paper towels held on long tongs. Then I oil the naan bread too!
For extra non-stick insurance, use foil or parchment paper. For foods that might easily fall apart or that have toppings, I like to put a little square of foil or some parchment on the grill. The food will easily lift off of that without leaving behind half of your dinner!

This post contains affiliate links. This means that if you click a link and make a purchase on Amazon, I will receive a small commission. This does not affect the cost to you. For more information, please see my disclosures. Thank you for supporting my blog!

Shared on Meal Plan Monday on Southern Bite and The Weekend Potluck on The Country Cook!

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Mary

Yield: 4 servings

Grilled Naan Bread Pizza with Grape Tomatoes & Basil

10 minPrep Time:

4 minCook Time:

14 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients

canola or vegetable oil for the grill
4 naan bread rounds
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 ounces mozzarella, grated (I used fresh but you could also use low-moisture)
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup chopped or julienned basil

Instructions

Preheat the grill to medium heat for fifteen minutes. Use a grill brush to clean the grates. Hold several paper towels folded or wadded in long grill tongs. Dip the paper towels into the canola or vegetable oil and thoroughly oil the grill grates.
Brush both sides of each piece of naan bread with olive oil. Place 4 sheets of aluminum foil or parchment paper on the grill and place a piece of naan on each piece. Cover and grill for two minutes.
Flip the naan bread rounds. Divide the mozzarella and halved tomatoes among the naan rounds. Cover and grill for an additional two minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Use a large grill spatula to carefully remove the pizzas from the grill. Top with the basil, slice, and serve.

Notes

Prep time includes active time to top the pizzas while they are on the grill.

Nutrition

https://chattavore.com/grilled-naan-bread-pizza-with-grape-tomatoes-basil/

Pimento Cheese Tomato Pie

July 14, 2017

Pimento cheese tomato pie is a perfectly simple, Southern dish that is wonderful as a main or a side, for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

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Pimento Cheese Obsession

Could I love pimento cheese any more than I already do? That, my friends, is doubtful. I feel like I probably drive you guys completely insane with all of my pimento cheese based recipes, but then again, maybe you love it as much as I do. Do you?

There aren’t many foods that I love more than pimento cheese, but one that I do is this: perfect summer tomatoes. I mean, most of the year the tomato offerings are sad at best, but about three months out of the year you can get tomatoes that absolutely sing and those are my favorite months of the year. There is just nothing better, in my opinion, than a tomato that you need two napkins to eat.

Tomato Pie Goodness

The tomato pie is a ubiquitous summer baked good. How can you go wrong with glorious summer tomatoes and cheese in a pie crust? That’s right, YOU CAN’T. Especially if the cheese is pimento cheese. Oh yes, you read that correctly. I went and put pimento cheese and tomatoes together in a pie crust. Pimento cheese tomato pie. You want to eat this. Yes, you do.

Too Easy To Call a Recipe!

Here’s the thing about this recipe. Honestly, I feel a little guilty publishing it and calling it a “recipe” because it is just so FLIPPING simple. It is literally tomatoes and pimento cheese in a pie crust. But then again, that’s what so wonderful about in-season tomatoes…you don’t have to do much, if anything, to them to have an amazing meal.

One thing: please don’t skip the salting and draining step unless you want a soggy tomato pie (ask me how I know). It’s easy, it just takes a little downtime to let the tomatoes sit there. And it’s well worth it for this masterpiece of simplicity: pimento cheese tomato pie.

Click here to save this recipe to your Pinterest vegetable or Southern cooking boards!

Shared on The Weekend Potluck on The Country Cook.

Mary

Yield: 1 9-inch tomato pie

Pimento Cheese Tomato Pie

45 minPrep Time:

45 minCook Time:

1 hr, 30 Total Time:

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Ingredients

2 large, ripe tomatoes (any color will work)
salt
crust for single crust pie
1 1/2 cups pimento cheese
basil leaves (optional)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a large plate with several layers of paper towels.
Slice the tomatoes into 1/8-inch thick rounds. Salt one side of the tomato slices and spread them on a single layer on top of the paper towels. Salt the other side. Let the tomatoes stand for fifteen minutes then flip them over and allow to stand for an additional fifteen minutes.
While the tomatoes are draining, par-bake the pie crust. Roll the crust into a 12-inch circle and press into a 9-inch pie plate or deep dish tart pan, crimping the edges if using a pie plate. Line with foil and fill with pie weights or dry beans. Bake for ten minutes.
After the tomatoes have drained for 30 minutes, gently press a paper towel on top to remove any excess moisture on top. Spread 1/2 cup of pimento cheese in the bottom of the pie crust. Top that with half of the tomato slices, then another half cup of the pimento cheese, the remaining tomatoes, and the remaining pimento cheese.
Bake the pie for 25-35 minutes, until the crust is golden and the cheese is lightly browned and bubbly. Top with desired amount of torn basil, if desired. Allow to stand for ten minutes before slicing and serving.

Notes

I totally used a refrigerated crust here, and you can too! Don't let the long prep/cook time scare you. Most of that is inactive time. My pie baked in 25 minutes.

Nutrition

https://chattavore.com/pimento-cheese-tomato-pie/

Pimento cheese tomato pie is a perfectly simple, Southern dish that is wonderful as a main or a side, for breakfast, lunch, or dinner! | Recipe from Chattavore.com

Cobb Salad Meal Prep

March 31, 2017

This Cobb salad meal prep tutorial will help you prep ingredients for a week’s worth of delicious salads in an hour or less, including homemade dressing!

What’s your lunch situation? Mine is pretty abysmal, I have to admit. And that’s really sad, because you guys, I’m a food blogger. Everything I eat is supposed to be delicious, gourmet, and totally Instagrammable, right? This is not the case.

What’s funny is that when I was a teacher, I used to think that people who worked outside of schools pretty much had it made. I mean, I always ate lunch with my kids (not required, but preschool teachers know this is best practice) so lunch usually meant scarfing whatever I was eating while simultaneously opening yogurt pouches and milk cartons, refereeing arguments, and making sure everyone stayed in their seat. Oh, wait, don’t forget the time I was told I was a terrible human being for not sharing my cheese dip with a kid from another class because he “liked cheese dip too” and “adults are supposed to share their food with kids”. Never mind that he had a full lunch in front of him and I had two tablespoons of cheese dip. Anyway…

Fast forward to today. There are many great things about my job, but the lunch arrangement is not one of them. I never thought that eating at a table would feel like a treat. Seriously. There are weeks that it doesn’t happen at all. I frequently eat in my car…it’s been a while since I’ve had to eat while driving, but there was definitely a period of time when everything had to be able to be consumed with one hand and no utensils. I have an office, but it is very rare that I’m there at lunch time (or at all). I’ve started forcing myself to frequently pack a lunch that requires utensils so I am forced to at least eat my lunch while not driving. Microwave access is definitely an issue, so it’s either got to be cold or able to go into a Thermos unless I know that I’ll be able to use a microwave, which is rare.

Plus, I’m terrible at packing my lunch. I do best when I plan ahead (big surprise there). I am not a person who can eat a PB&J every single day, but if I plan something really good I can eat it for a week without feeling like I’m gonna lose my mind. Turkey & cheese croissants, soup in a Thermos, and a really good salad are some of my faves. I’ve decided to really make an effort to spend the time prepping everything on Sundays so I don’t have to stress over it on weeknights.

One thing…I don’t really like the whole “put everything in the containers on Sunday night and just grab them as you need them” idea, at least not for salads. There’s too much danger of things getting soggy or rotty and I’m not down with that. So, I prep everything ahead like a little mini salad bar and then assemble the salad the night before so I can pick out any unsavory bits.

This Cobb salad is super simple. It took me about an hour from start to finish, including making the dressing, roasting the chickpeas, boiling the eggs, and chopping the lettuce, cheese, and cucumbers. Cobb salad usually has chicken, but I really, really dislike chicken that’s been sitting in the fridge, so I subbed in the crispy roasted chickpeas. Also, Cobb salad is traditionally served with a vinaigrette, but I made my own ranch using the recipe from the BTC Old-Fashioned Grocery cookbook (affiliate link)(and here’s my own ranch dressing recipe). Everything gets its own container and I assemble it in my Systema salad container the night before. This salad will get me through the week, and I’ll start over again next Sunday!

Shared on Weekend Potluck on The Country Cook!

Recommended for this recipe:

Mary

Yield: 5 salads

Cobb Salad Meal Prep

30 minPrep Time:

30 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients

2-3 hearts of romaine
1 cucumber, seeded and diced
1 package grape tomatoes
2 avocados
5 ounces cheddar cheese, cubed, or crumbled blue cheese
5 strips bacon, cooked
5 eggs, boiled
your choice of dressing
your choice of crunchy toppings - I used roasted chickpeas, sesame sticks, and roasted, salted pistachios

Instructions

Chop the romaine into bite-sized pieces. Place in a salad spinner and fill with water then drain and spin, or place in a colander and rinse thoroughly then shake the colander. Spread the lettuce down the center of a strip of 4 or 5 paper towels then roll the lettuce up. Place the lettuce in a gallon-sized zipper bag and refrigerate.
Store the cucumbers in a covered bowl. Store the cheese in a sandwich bag or a covered bowl. Store the bacon in whole strips in a sandwich bag and the eggs in an egg carton, unpeeled.
To assemble the salad, place a few handfuls of lettuce (about 1 1/2 to 2 cups), a couple of spoonfuls of cucumber, 3 or 4 tomatoes, 1/4 avocado (I leave it in the peel then just scoop it out before I eat), and a diced egg in a covered bowl. In a separate container (or a separate section of a salad container), place a piece of bacon, chopped, an ounce (about 1/4 cup) of cheese, your choice of crunchy toppings, and a small container of dressing. Refrigerate until ready to serve or carry in a bag with ice packs.

Notes

You can add chopped chicken, turkey, or ham to this salad if you would like.

Nutrition

https://chattavore.com/cobb-salad-meal-prep/

This post contains affiliate links. This means that if you click through and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission. This does not affect the cost to you. For more information, please see my disclosures. Thank you for supporting my blog!