Asian Noodle Salad

This recipe is from the Pioneer Woman but I found it on Pinterest, of course! It is really delicious and the perfect summer lunch. It's a cold pasta salad with an Asian flare made with a ton of veggies. You can really use whatever veggies you like. I used most everything she did, but I left out the spinach, cashews, and bean sprouts. Her recipe calls for linguine noodles. I think next time I will use macaroni or shells. I loved this salad but eating linguine noodles cold (and without pasta sauce) felt weird to me. This recipe makes a huge bowl full so you can eat it for many days!

Salad Ingredients:
- 1/2 a package of pasta noodles cooked, rinsed and cooled (whichever kind you prefer)
- purple cabbage (I used the kind already washed and cut in the bag)
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 orange bell pepper
- 1 bunch of cilantro
- 1 bunch of green onions
- 1 cucumber
- I also some broccoli slaw (found by the shredded cabbage and coleslaw mix in the grocery store)

Dressing Ingredients:
- 1 whole lime, juiced
- 8 tablespoons of olive oil
- 8 tablespoons of soy sauce
- 2 or 3 tablespoons of sesame oil (found on the Asian isle in the store)
- 1/3 cup of brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons of fresh ginger, chopped ( I just used a grater and minced it instead of chopping it)
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 whole jalapeno pepper, chopped
- cilantro

Directions:
1) The first thing you need to do (after boiling, rinsing, and cooling noodles) is get all the veggies chopped up. This is what takes the longest.
2) Once everything is chopped up, mix the salad ingredients together.
3) In a separate bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. I think I used less olive oil and more soy sauce and sesame oil. I like a lot of dressing on my salad, so I added a little more of everything.
4) Mix the salad and dressing together with tongs or hands and serve.
5) Voila!

*Note: I made this during the school year and brought it for lunch for a whole week! This recipe really makes alot. And it keeps really well in the fridge. Enjoy!

  Get Cookin'!

Veggie Supreme Tostadas

I made these for a quick lunch today and I was quite surprised how good they were! I think the secret was in the beans. I did not just plop some beans on the tostadas straight out of the can. No way! Instead I heated them in a pan, added some milk and a little butter, and also a can of diced green chilies. I probably could have just eaten the refried beans right out of the pot! But I was able to control myself just long enough to plate up these tostadas. Another secret- I put a little bit of serrano pepper ranch dressing on top of the beans. Yummy!

I'm not sure why I am full of secrets today....

My toppings (but of course you can change this however! Or even add some ground beef or shredded chicken to make a quick and filling dinner.) :

- 1 can of refried beans (I added a little milk, butter, and a can of diced chilies to them)
- serrano pepper ranch dressing
- lettuce
- avocado
- cherry tomatoes
- sour cream
- shredded cheese
- cilantro

Simple, easy, quick, and delish! My 4 favorite things!

     Get Cookin'!