Taco Pasta Salad

Made this dish for a dinner playgroup and it is soooooooo so good! I will definitely be making this a lot over the summer :)

Original recipe from http://www.carascravings.com/2009/05/wagon-wheel-taco-pasta-salad.html

INGREDIENTS

• 1lb pasta or choice
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 10oz package frozen corn 
• 2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 8oz shredded Mexican-blend cheese
• 1 1/2 cups salsa
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 4 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• salt, to taste
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro 
• 1 avocado, diced

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook the pasta al dente according to package directions.
2. Drain and rinse with cold water.
3. In a large bowl, combine the black beans, corn, tomatoes, salsa, and cheese. 
4. Add the cooled pasta and mix well. 
5. In another bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, garlic, cumin and chili powder. 
6. Pour over the pasta salad, add the cilantro, and mix well. 
7. Season to taste with salt. 
8. Just before serving, stir in the diced avocado. 

Pearl Couscous Salad

I attended a vegan wedding last summer and had some amazingly sweet and delicious couscous salad there. I've been dreaming about recreating it for a while now and I found the pearl couscous at Costco and decided to try a couscous salad. This wasn't as sweet as the one I had at the wedding (added veggies), but still very tasty! I ate it warmed up for dinner, and then cold for lunch the next day. Yum!

Definitely something I will be making a lot, considering how easy it was to make, and how good! :) I think this is great as a side-dish, and great as a main meal. You could add meat to it if you don't want it to be a vegetarian dish; chicken would be my choice. But meat is certainly not missed from this dish!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup pearl (Israeli) couscous
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1 large red pepper, diced
• 1/2-3/4 cup dried craisins
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• olive oil

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large skillet, heat up olive oil and add in vegetables.
2. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Add in couscous and broth.
4. Cover and bring to a simmer.
5. Simmer for 8-10 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and mix in crasins and sunflower seeds.
7. Enjoy!

Kielbasa Potato Salad

We're leaving on vacation soon, so I'm trying to clean out the fridge. It's also really hot and humid, so nothing hot/warm sounded good! I decided potato salad sounded perfect...and needed to use the kielbasa and celery before it went bad....and this is what I ended up with. Yum!

Sauce measurements are approximate...I just eye-balled it.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 medium red potatoes, cooked and diced
• 1 kielbasa, cook and diced
• 4 celery stalks (or more, that's all I had left), finely chopped
• 1 cup peas, cooked

SAUCE INGREDIENTS

• about 2 tbsp olive oil
• about 1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
• salt, to taste
• garlic powder, to taste
• about 1 tsp paprika
• about 1 tbsp oregano

DIRECTIONS

1. While cooking the peas, potatoes and Kielbasa, mix sauce ingredients together well.
2. Combine and stir.
3. Enjoy warm, at room temp, or cold!

Asian Spinach Pasta Salad