The sun. The warm air. The sounds of laughter and roar of the lawn mower. The scent of freshly cut grass. When I sat down earlier to write this blog post, all of these things beckoned me outside. I tried to soldier on but all I found was a sputtering of ho-hum sentences curving around the photos I had so carefully edited earlier. Finally, I conceded defeat, snapping my laptop shut and heading outside to trim our bushes, play an impromptu game of soccer and grill burgers for dinner.

In the end, I was smiling, no longer held hostage by words that wouldn’t come or feeling of being torn between what I needed to do and what I wanted to. It just goes to show that sometimes the best thing we can do is to walk away and let life happen.

This salad is a let life happen sort of thing too. It’s so simple that it can practically be made with zero planning. Red pepper, avocado, corn, black beans … these are things we practically always have on hand here at this time of year. Avocados are in season and affordable at about $1 each. We easily eat three each week. Lime juice? It’s my citrus of choice, so it’s almost always in the fridge in some form or another. All together, it’s a magical combination that makes a perfect side dish for lunch or dinner. Or you could totally snack on the leftovers. Don’t worry — I won’t tell.

What this salad isn’t is terribly unique. Yes, I actually said that. This is my version that I whip up but there are dozens of other similar ways to make it. Mine was inspired by a salad my cousin shared with me at the beach recently. Hers had lemon juice as the citrus and a few more ingredients (tomatoes and some sort of onion, if I remember correctly). Meanwhile, I made this for a family party on Saturday and arrived to discover that another very similar salad was also on the table. That cool, tangy version used a lot more lime juice and had green onions and tomatoes in it but no avocado. It was so refreshing. That’s three versions … all from within our one family. Do you have one too? Spill in the comments!

The avocado lends a smooth creaminess to this salad, enveloping the red peppers, black beans and corn. It has enough cilantro to give the salad that earthy freshness without allowing the pungent herb to overtake the other flavors. It’s a perfect balance, even if you aren’t usually a big cilantro fan. But cilantro fans might want to double the amount. But for me, it’s just right.

This salad? It’s just lovely for spring.

Creamy Black Bean, Red Pepper and Corn Salad with Avocado and Cilantro
serves 8 as a side dish

2 ears fresh corn, peeled, boiled for 10 minutes and kernels removed
1 large red pepper, finely diced
1 tbsp minced fresh cilantro
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (I use organic)
1 Hass avocado, pitted, peeled and diced
1 lime, juiced
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Stir together the corn kernels (break apart any large clumps, but small ones are okay), red pepper, cilantro, black beans and avocado. Drizzle with lime juice and olive oil. Toss well. Season with salt and pepper to desired flavor.

Chill until ready to serve.

Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to two days.

A salad like this is a perfect ending to a cheery day. It hits all the right notes — crisp, crunchy, sweet, savory and belly-filling. And despite the length of the ingredients list, it’s ready in 10 minutes or less. An invaluable recipe to have in your repertoire, right?

This healthful salad was actually the ultimate finish to my Friday, the last weekday of spring break for my kids. We’d had a playful day filled with laughter, thrills and our collective favorite place — the beach. Yes, again.

What really made it significant though was that the whole week had been filled with memory-making good times. That’s no small feat, considering it was a work week for me. It was as though I had a fundamental shift in thinking that allowed me to just let go and enjoy — while still keeping up with all my work responsibilities. Good times, people.

But I will be the first to admit that the merriment of Spring Break 2012 is a complete 180 from previous years. In the past, the words ‘spring break’ have made me shudder. I struggled to balance work with having the kids home, and never seemed to do it well. Instead of enjoying spring break, the inevitable disruption in our schedule was an overwhelming challenge. And then there were all my good intentions of being one of those families that actually traveled during spring break. It never happened, a reality that inevitably produced dreaded feelings of inadequacy. Spring break in past years was just a bundle of blech.

This year was different. Anticipating the start of spring break, I was excited for the welcome respite. We’ve been in a whirlwind of activity for the past few months, including the week we were away. The beautiful weather and not wanting to travel (yes, really) made a difference too.

You know what else made a difference? Being a little spontaneous. Little excursions — to the playground, to the beach (um, twice) and even to track practice with friends — made the week really count. The little things can really mean so much.

So spring break this year? It was awesome. Summer vacation can’t come fast enough now.

While I can’t fast-forward through the last two months of school (and really, I wouldn’t want to … there is something to be said for anticipation), I can clutch a tiny bit of summer by trading the heavy foods of winter for the lighter bites of summertime — like this Edamame Chicken Dinner Salad.

A little more about the salad … This is crazy simple to make. Start with a bed of lettuce. Top with cucumber, tomatoes and roasted red peppers. Fry up a slice of bacon (yes, just one) and then brown edamame in the grease (ok … that I could have made a little healthier, but everything in moderation, right?). Top the salad with the bacon (crumbled, of course), edamame, a sliced grilled chicken breast (perhaps leftover from last night?) and a little oil and great quality balsamic vinegar. Oh, and a touch of salt and pepper.

Done. Grab your fork and dig in. It’s calling to you. Seriously.

So tell me … how do you feel about spring break? Is it something to look forward to, or a total dread fest?

Edamame Chicken Dinner Salad
serves 1

2 cups sweet baby lettuce
1/2 cup peeled, sliced and quartered cucumbers
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup thinly sliced roasted red peppers
1 slice bacon
1/4 cup shelled edamame (frozen is ok)
4 oz grilled chicken breast, sliced
extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar (best quality)
salt and pepper, to taste

Arrange the lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes and roasted red peppers in a large bowl.

Heat a small skillet on the stove over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook till crisp. Remove the bacon to a paper towel lined plate and let cool. Add the edamame to the skillet and cook, shaking the pan occasionally for 3-4 minutes, until lightly browned.

Crumble the bacon onto the salad. Top with edamame and chicken breast (hot or cold, it’s your choice). Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

After a long day at Walt Disney World last week, all I wanted was a salad. It was tattooed on my brain — the kind of desire that trumps all other thoughts and options. Forget about the long menu with some truly amazing dishes. Show me the salads, people. So when Shawn, the kids and I headed to a restaurant nearby our hotel, I gravitated to the salad menu (naturally!) and was shocked to see that salads were in the $13-$18 dollar range. Seriously? For a salad? Is this inflation at work? It almost pushed me into ordering a more wallet-friendly sandwich instead, but I really desperately wanted a salad.

Are you sensing a theme here?

Finally, I spotted it. A brief entry on the light menu that promised many of the salad toppings that I was craving for a mere $11. Well, not so mere, but better than the other options. Apparently light meant lots of lettuce and sparing amounts of toppings. But whatever. I ordered it and it was tasty.

Still, the idea of spending big bucks on salads floors me. Restaurants are charging more and more for salads with exciting toppings. In some cases, the salads cost more than the lighter entrees on the menu, though I am sure that the work that goes into the light entrees trumps that of making a salad. It’s curious, and definitely takes away some of the luster of ordering a killer salad. Especially when you can make your own at home for a fraction of the cost. Literally a fraction. Like 1/8 or something.

Now that we’re back home again, I am making my own salads with all the fabulous toppings I want. But I’m not going for the chopped salad look with this one (I am of course a huge chopped salad fan, but that’s just not what I wanted here). Instead, I wanted something that was as pretty to look at as it is to eat.  That means substantial chunks of some things and whisper thin bits of others, courtesy of the mandolin. After seeing a food styling demo at Food Blog Forum that involved a mandolin, I couldn’t wait to try making a salad with oh-oh-thin bits too.

About the salad, it’s all about the flavors and textures here. You have crisp, tart bits of apple, sweet shards of red pepper, zingy bits of red onion and creamy avocado. The red wine vinaigrette is a perfect accompaniment because it draws all the flavors together without overpowering them. This makes a perfect light lunch — and it only takes a few minutes to toss together.

About that mandolin though …

Using a Mandolin

Years ago, I bought a mandolin because I thought it would be the magic secret to making easier sweet potato fries. Unfortunately, I soon discovered just how challenging the sweet potato is. The mandolin (and later a fry cutter) were no match for the stubborn raw sweet potato. Aside from a few times using the food processor to make shoestring sweet potatoes, I always cut my fries by hand now. It’s just easier (and ruins less kitchen equipment).

Aside from that, I just didn’t see a need for the mandolin. Sharp knives do the job just fine for making thin cuts, don’t they? Well, they can. But … you had to know there was a but coming, right? … you can’t get whisper thin slices from hand cutting. Perfectly even, whisper thin cuts … they are just so beautiful and delicate. Turns out maybe the mandolin isn’t so useless after all. Color me a convert.

These days, I am shaving my vegetables on a handheld Oxo mandolin that was in my Food Blog Forum swag bag (thanks Oxo!). It’s super easy to use and super easy to clean up.
Plus it’s thin and stores really easily. I’m totally loving it. Oh, and Oxo didn’t ask me to write these nice things. I just did because I totally dig the mandolin.

Are you a mandolin fan? What do you use yours for?

Green Apple, Red Onion, Avocado and Red Pepper Salad
serves 2

4 cups sweet baby greens, rinsed and spun dry
1/2 Haas avocado, diced
1/2 cup whisper thin slices red onion
1/2 cup whisper thin sliced green apple
1/2 cup whisper thin slices red bell  pepper
red wine vinaigrette

Toss together the lettuce, avocado, red onion, apple and pepper until well combined. The pieces of onion, apple and pepper should be dispersed throughout. Drizzle with red wine vinaigrette and toss again.

Divide into two salad bowls. Devour.

When Shawn and I used to eat out (a frequent occurrence in our pre-children days when money was plentiful and bills were not), I would order Buffalo Chicken Salad whenever it was on the menu. I loved the crunch of the fried chicken, the spice of the buffalo wing sauce and the creamy coolness of the blue cheese. When you put a variety of flavors and textures like that together, it’s almost certain to please my senses.

Actually, if we are going to be super honest, just the mere act of putting buffalo wing sauce on salad at all makes me super happy. Something about the spicy tang flavor wrapped around the cool, crisp lettuce just does it for me. When I was fresh out of college, I would sometimes pack buffalo wing sauce as dressing for my lunch salads at work.

What?

It’s been awhile since I last had a buffalo chicken salad though. Beyond the fact that eating out is a rare thing these days, I don’t often eat fried anything these days so it sort of fell off my taste-bud radar over the years. But when I recently bought buffalo wing sauce for a recipe I was developing for work, it was all I could think about. Before I even set foot in the store to buy the sauce, I had visions of this salad dancing in my head.

I decided to put a simplified spin on it that takes the finer points of the salad making it a little more waist-friendly and a little speedier to whip up.

The salad is built on a bed of baby lettuce, which are tiny whole leaves of lettuce — a fork-friendly option. Choose one you love — it’s important. I usually go for a mesclun mix or a baby romaine. That’s topped with cubed leftover chicken such as rotisserie chicken, sweet red bell pepper, crisp celery and creamy blue cheese crumbles. Then it’s drizzled with spicy buffalo wing sauce and tangy vinaigrette. Oh, bliss on a plate and it only takes a few minutes to put it all there.

When I was making this, I was concerned that I might miss the crunch of the fried chicken. But I didn’t — the cubed chicken gives that necessary poultry flavor without negating the natural goodness of salad. If you really want a little more crunch though, some chopped walnuts could totally do it.

This salad is a perfect update of my old favorite — and so incredibly easy that it can be whipped up in minutes. Really, minutes.

Do you have a favorite restaurant meal that you don’t eat as often anymore? What is it?

Buffalo Chicken Salad
serves 1

2 cups baby lettuce (variety of your choice)
1/2 cup cooked diced chicken, such as from a rotisserie bird
1 celery rib, cut in half length-wise and into 2-inch pieces
4 strips red sweet bell pepper, halved
1 tbsp crumbled blue cheese
1 tbsp buffalo wing sauce
1 tbsp vinaigrette

Arrange the lettuce on a plate. Top with chicken, celery, sweet bell pepper and blue cheese. Drizzle with buffalo wing sauce and then vinaigrette.

Enjoy.

Caesar salad is basic. Predictable. Boring, even. I mean, maybe you’ll find some well-seasoned chicken or delicious shrimp on a special Caesar, but generally it’s the same thing: romaine, Caesar dressing and Parmesan, mix well. Oh, and croutons. Repeat. But who says it has to be that way? Who says that Caesar salads can’t be a little more exciting?

Guess what? They can be. This one is.

It’s all about the ingredients. While simplicity rules the classic Caesar salad, the details elevate this one. This version of the Caesar starts with baby lettuce — I use baby sweet lettuce, which is mild and pleasant. Next comes a chopped hard boiled egg. Just rough chop it into bigger pieces — no need to make it tiny.

Also, I want to let you in on a little secret: If you are in a hurry, you can buy already hard boiled and peeled eggs. They’re perfect in a pinch. Or if you can’t seem to squeeze an extra second out of your day.

Back to the salad. Next comes crispy bits of bacon and shelled edamame. But not just any shelled edamame — some that has been quickly heated in the bacon fat and then drained with the bacon. It makes it so special, and adds a little extra richness to the salad.

You stir all of that together. Actually, it’s more like you toss all of that together.

Finally it’s time to dress the salad. This is where the salad veers back toward tradition. Use your favorite Caesar, whether it’s homemade Caesar salad dressing or store bought.

Toss it. Sprinkle with some Romano. Toss again.

Now, you’re ready to devour it.

Also, did you see that mention of Eat. Live. Be. above? Cate, Patsy, Joanne and I put our heads together and decided to bring ELB back again. We need it, and we think some of you might need it too. Even though it’s the holiday season, we can’t wait to start moving toward our healthier selves again.

If you aren’t familiar with Eat. Live. Be., it’s a healthy initiative that Cate and I started at the beginning of the year. We, with a group of great bloggers, posted on specific topics every Monday for until mid-summer. Along the way, a lot of us hit big milestones — like goals met and pounds lost.

We’ve relaxed the rules for Eat. Live. Be. Reboot to focus solely on inspiration. We’ll be posting about things that inspire us every week from magazines, online, etc. I can tell you that the support and community of the original Eat. Live. Be. was incredible — and I have a feeling that it will be again this time.

This week we’re talking about magazine inspiration. I really wasn’t sure what I would write about since I haven’t cracked open a magazine in too long. Though I have dozens of subscriptions, my time has been consumed by work and stress (which always leads to delays in getting work done). That’s one of the big things I want to change with this Reboot.

I shouldn’t have been worried. I am a firm believer that life hands you just what you need right when you need it. I’d barely opened the latest issue of Bella Magazine when I saw an interview with Marisa Ramirez, an actress who played Gia on General Hospital. Turns out Ramirez is big into fitness — particularly kick-boxing, which she teaches when she isn’t off filming something fabulous.

The interview focused on Ramirez’s attitude about fitness, her inspirations and how she stays healthy when she’s so busy (didn’t I tell you that it was just what I needed?). She’s so devoted to being healthy and living a fit life. That’s exactly what I want for myself.

“The key is to do everything in moderation. Set goals for yourself and keep increasing them. Some people love to make excuses for why they are not working out or eating well. Once you’ve tried it, you will start feeling happier and better about yourself,” Ramirez told Bella.

I think I just got my little kick to get started … First, my goals:

• Lose 25 pounds.
• Eat more fruits and veggies.
• Drink more water.
• Sleep more.

Be sure to pop in on the Eat. Live. Be. Reboot Facebook Page to see what everyone is up to. We’ll be posting little updates and tips throughout the week there too.

In the meantime, enjoy this salad.

Loaded Caesar Salad
serves 1

2 slices bacon, chopped
1 tbsp shelled (cooked) edamame
2 cups baby lettuce (pictured: Olivia’s Baby Sweet Lettuce)
1 hard-boiled egg, chopped
1 tbsp Caesar dressing
grated Romano cheese

Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Once it’s hot, add the bacon. When it’s almost done (mostly browned), add the edamame to the pan and cook for 1 minute, or until the bacon is done. Pour onto a paper towel-lined plate and let drain.

In a medium mixing bowl, add the lettuce, chopped egg, bacon and edamame. Stir well. Add the Caesar dressing and toss well to combine. Sprinkle with cheese and toss again. Transfer the salad to a plate or large bowl.

Eat immediately.

So. I’ve had a couple of butternut squashes in my fridge. They’ve been taunting me. Staring me down. Begging me to do something, anything with them. But I was nervous. It’s been years since I handled and cooked squashes in their whole form. Typically, I take the easy way out and buy squash that’s already been peeled and cubed. But I couldn’t let the squash go to waste. I had to overcome my nerves and just use it.

Turns out, working with butternut squash is way easier than I remember. Since I ultimately wanted cubed squash, I cut the ends of the squash off to make them flat — easier to work with the squash that way. Then I used a regular ol’ vegetable peeler to peel the skin (which wasn’t as tough or thick as I expected), taking care to peel away until I saw orange flesh. Finally, I sliced the squash in half length-wise, removed the seeds and stringy things and sliced the squash into 1/4-inch slices. I used what I needed immediately, dicing it,  and stored the rest in an airtight container in the fridge.

Honestly, working with a whole squash wasn’t any harder or more time consuming than cutting down the big chunks of butternut squash into a quarter-inch dice. And it’s way more cost effective. Guess what I will be buying in the future? Yep … no shortcuts needed on this one.

I’ve been roasting most of the squash and using it in different dishes. When you roast butternut squash, it becomes soft and sweet — a natural, light caramelization that’s just awesome. For this, I tossed the squash with a bit of olive oil spray, cinnamon, paprika and salt (a killer combination on orange veggies), which gives it a rich savory sweetness once it’s been roasted for about 25 minutes.

One of my favorite things to do with this roasted squash is to sprinkle it onto salad. It’s amazing, and a little unexpected. This salad combines the sweet, soft bits of squash with sweet-tart dried cranberries and warm, meaty toasted walnuts. It’s served on a bed of romaine. And one of my favorite things about it? It didn’t take more than 30 minutes to make. Okay. maybe 40 minutes, if you haven’t already peeled and sliced your squash.

It’s a great fall salad for lunch or a light dinner. Who doesn’t love a great salad?

What shortcuts do you take in cooking? Dish in the comments.

Butternut Squash, Toasted Walnut and Dried Cranberry Salad
serves 4

2 cups diced fresh butternut squash (1/4-inch dice)
olive oil spray
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground sweet paprika
kosher salt, to taste
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
8 cups washed and torn romaine lettuce
1/2 cup dried cranberries
dressing of your choice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with nonstick aluminum foil. Spread the butternut squash over the baking sheet. Spray with olive oil spray. Sprinkle with the cinnamon, paprika and salt. Stir and toss gently to disperse the seasonings throughout.

Bake for 22-25 minutes, stirring once, until the butternut squash is golden brown and tender.

Meanwhile, in a small warmed skillet set over medium heat, toast the walnuts for 1-2 minutes, until warmed and slightly browned. Remove from heat.

Arrange two cups of lettuce on each of four plates. Top with 1/4 of the butternut squash, toasted walnuts and dried cranberries. Drizzle with dressing, as desired.

Serve immediately.

We’re off to enjoy some late summer freedom today, but before I go I wanted to share this ridiculous easy salad. It’s perfect for late summer, and takes just minutes to toss together.

You start with peppery arugula. I use the stems in the salad since they add that extra pop of pepper. Then you add sweet, tender corn kernels — fresh ones, just cut from the perfect cooked cob. Crunchy sweet red peppers burst in every bite. And creamy, salty fresh mozzerella is the perfect contrast to it all.

Then it’s dressed in your favorite vinaigrette — I used an Italian vinaigrette for the one you see pictured, but a balsamic vinaigrette would be great too. And homemade? That’s best, but bottled works too in a pinch (I know, how dare I suggest such a thing? But sometimes you are just too busy to fuss with making your own. Or I am, at least).

Finally, let it rest for a few minutes. I like it best when the vinaigrette penetrates the salad and makes the leaves wilt just a little bit.

Now, go enjoy your day. And have a little salad too.

Arugula, Corn and Pepper Salad
serves 4

1 bunch arugula, washed and chopped (about 4 cups)
1 ear corn, cooked until tender and kernels removed from the cob
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup diced fresh mozzarella
1/4 cup vinaigrette

In a large bowl, toss together the arugula, corn, bell pepper and mozzarella. Add the vinaigrette and toss to coat. Allow the salad to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

The gravel crunches under the tires as I pull up to the farm where I belong to a CSA program (a CSA is basically a share in a farm’s harvest; I receive a box of veggies and fruit every week in the summer). It’s this grabble-grabble sound that almost sounds like it’s talking to you, welcoming you as you enter.

When I get close the fields come into view. Rows of cabbage, kale and other veggies run perpendicular to the driveway, sometimes dotted with flowers for bouquets. I park under a sign that declares “Customer Parking,” although the parking lot is exclusive to the farm.

On days like today, I see my cousin’s little boys following their father around the fields, wanting to be like him and help. It’s so sweet to watch, my favorite little farm boys. They have this amazing life spend playing outside at the farm. It almost makes me wish I was 3 again.

The boys follow me to the CSA pick-up area, asking about Will and Paige and telling me about their mom being under the weather. I love them.

When I glance into the basket, I see the tomatoes first — a pint of sweet, fresh tomatoes ready to be enjoyed. They’re perfect for dinner. But what should I do with them? That’s the real question.

I take my share home, dice the tomatoes and toss them with fresh diced peaches, chopped basil, a little balsamic vinegar and salt. It’s so simple, but so good. A flash of summertime, filled with the season’s best sweet and savory flavors. The kids eat every bit I give them. And me? I go back for seconds, a rare indulgence. The salad walks the line between sweet and savory perfectly.

Have you had fresh vine-grown tomatoes this season? How were they?

Tomato, Peach and Basil Salad
serves 4

1 1/2 cups diced fresh tomatoes
1 cup diced fresh peaches (about 2)
10 basil leaves, sliced
1 tsp good-quality balsamic vinegar
sea salt

In a small to medium mixing bowl, stir together the tomatoes, peaches and basil leaves. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and season with salt. Stir again.

Serve immediately, or chill until read to serve. Add a little extra sprinkling of salt when you serve it up.

This salad is a cool, refreshing and easy dish to throw together — which couldn’t be more perfect for days like today (and tomorrow and Saturday), when the temperature soars well into the 90s or higher, with humidity to make it all the worse.

Preparing it is as simple as rinsing and chopping three veggies … and then tossing it all together with vinaigrette. Let it sit for about 15 minutes before you serve it. That lets the vinaigrette really soak into the cabbage.

The best thing about this salad? Leftovers can be saved. Yes, with the dressing. Cabbage stands up better to the vinaigrette than lettuce does, so it won’t get wimpy if you tuck some into a container and save it for tomorrow. Heck, it kind of gets better with age. Like a fine wine or good cheese. Sort of.

Anyway, if you are looking for an easy, low-prep recipe, this is perfect.

How do you serve napa cabbage?

Easy Balsamic Napa Cabbage Salad
serves 8

1 head napa cabbage, washed and cut into thin ribbons
6 carrots, peeled and sliced thin
1 sweet bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup balsamic vinaigrette

In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, carrots and bell peppers. Toss well. Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette and toss to combine.

Allow the salad to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.

Rhythm. It’s the stuff that our days are made of. It makes things regular and predictable and gives us a sense of calm, even when chaos threatens.

Finding a rhythm when something changes always take a little time. When Will started kindergarten in September, it took a couple of weeks back in to find the right morning rhythm. Ok. Maybe it was a couple months.

Right now? I am trying to find my own new rhythm. Recently, I started a new job with a company I love. It’s part time and includes some office hours for me — something I haven’t had in nearly three years. I’m still freelancing as well, and developing new recipes. Meanwhile, I am seeking that new balanced rhythm that keeps me calm, sane and focused to get everything done that needs doing. I hope I find it soon.

When you are seeking a new rhythm, basic things like making lunch or having side dishes planned and ready to go can be a challenge. That’s where simple, easy, tasty and versatile dishes come in. Dishes like this Balsamic Pasta Salad.

Sweet bell peppers, vinaigrette-soaked broccoli, soft but firm pasta and salty olives combine with a sweet-tart homemade balsamic vinaigrette. It’s summery, balanced and so fresh.

And when you are stressed about dinner or worried about getting all your work done or wondering what you will pack for your child’s lunch, having a batch of this in the fridge ready to go is a huge blessing.

Really. Truly.

More Pasta Salad Recipes:

• Lemony Pasta Salad
• Antipasti Pasta Salad
• Orange Pasta Salad

What’s your go-to dish to keep on hand when things get hectic?

Balsamic Pasta Salad
serves 10-12

1 lb. rotelle pasta
2 cups (generous) broccoli florets (cut into 1″ chunks)
1 14-oz can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 sweet bell pepper (red, orange or yellow), chopped
1/2 cup black olives, chopped
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp dry ground mustard
salt and pepper

Cook the pasta according to package directions. You want to cook it about a minute past al dente for a softer texture, since it will firm when cooled. Drain well and add to a large bowl.

Chop the artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers.

Add the artichoke hearts, sweet bell peppers, broccoli and olives to the pasta and mix well.

Pour the dressing in and stir to coat. Chill for at least 30 minutes — until ready to serve.

Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.