Wagon Wheel Taco Pasta Salad

We didn't take a major vacation this summer because we were planning on starting our kitchen renovations (updates to come soon!) in August, so we were in major saving money mode. We wanted to get away for at least a few days though, so we rented a cute little house near Lake Travis in Austin. In another cost-saving measure, we decided to take advantage of our house's kitchen and make most of our meals ourselves instead of going out to restaurants. Since this was our vacation, I wanted to keep it simple, but yummy, and this definitely fit the bill. The only problem is it makes enough to feed an army, and we ended up with more leftovers than we could eat! Here's the full recipe, but unless you're planning on feeding a crowd, I would cut this way down.

1 pound wagon wheel pasta (I'm sure other kinds of pasta would work just fine, but the recipe called for this and it's such a cute shape!)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 10 oz. package frozen corn (I used canned)
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
8 oz. shredded Mexican-blend cheese
1 1/2 cups salsa
1/2 cup olive oil
3-4 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon cumin
1-2 teaspoons chili powder
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 avocado, diced

Cook pasta to al dente, drain and rinse with cold water. In a large bowl, combine black beans, corn, tomatoes, salsa and cheese. Add pasta and mix well. In another bowl, whisk together olive oil, lime juice, garlic, cumin and chili powder. Pour over pasta salad, add cilantro and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Just before serving stir in diced avocados.

Source: carascravings.blogspot.com

Chicken Ceasar Salad

Sometimes it seems like the simplest meals are the best ones. I had been craving a chicken Ceasar salad for some random reason, so I decide to make an easy version of one for dinner. I used the recipe for

my salad with romaine ribbons, then added bite-sized pieces of chicken that I had just cooked with olive oil, salt and pepper. I made some croutons by tearing bread into small pieces, drizzling with olive oil, sprinkling with pepper and garlic salt and then broiling until they were browned and crispy. I added the warm croutons, tossed everything together, poured a glass of wine and had a delicious Ceasar salad that totally satisfied my craving!

Simple Salad with Sunny Vinaigrette

This is the perfect light, delicious summery salad.

For Salad:
6 cups Spring Mix salad greens
1/2 cup slice cucumber
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
2 vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced
2 small carrots, sliced
3 pink radishes, sliced

For dressing:
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon fresh oregano, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Place salad greens in a large bowl, top with other veggies. Set aside. In a medium bowl, combine vinegar, lemon juice, Dijon, salt and pepper, oregano and garlic. Whisking constantly, slowly add olive oil in a thin stream. Add more lemon juice, salt or pepper as necessary to adjust flavor to your liking. Drizzle dressing over salad and serve.

Source: goodthingscatered.blogspot.com

Yummy Summer Treat

This is my new favorite summer dessert. It is so good and so easy--it doesn't get better than that! All you need is sherbert (I used berry flavor) and a fruity soda (I used lemon) to make a summery float. Just like a coke float, somehow mixing the ingredients together totally changes the flavor of both of them. So good--you must try it!!

Black Bean Dip

I love, love, love this dip! I don't even know exactly why I love it so much, because all of the ingredients are pretty basic, but seriously, it's so yummy!

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans corn, drained
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 small purple onion, diced
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
4-6 limes, juiced (I like mine very lime-y!)
olive oil, to taste
1-2 avocados, diced when ready to serve

Mix all ingredients together and serve with tortilla chips.

Source: my mom and Rosanne

Beach Shrimp

This was so good! Even though the recipe is pretty basic, the shrimp had a ton of flavor--delish! This is the original recipe, but I cut it way down and used a little less than a pound of shrimp and there was still plenty for just the 2 of us.

3 lbs. peeled, large raw shrimp
1 16 oz. bottle Italian dressing
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly ground pepper
2 garlic cloves, pressed
2 lemons, halved
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup butter, cut into small pieces (I'm sure you could get away with way less butter than this--I used about 1 tablespoon and that was plenty!)

Place first 4 ingredients ina 9x13 baking dish, tossing to coat. Squeeze juice from lemons over shrimp mixture and stir. Add lemon halves to pan. Sprinkle evenly with parsley. Dot with butter. Bake at 375 for about 25 minutes, stirring after 15 minutes. Serve in pan.

Cucumber and Tomato Salad

This is one of those perfect easy, light and summery foods that I love to make when it's literally 105 degrees outside. Yum!

1 cucumber, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tomato, cut into bite-sized pieces (I halved cherry tomatoes)
1/4 to 1/2 small red onion, cut into 1 inch strips
2 tablespoons crumbled feta

Dressing:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dry oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Whisk together dressing ingredients. Pour over chopped veggies and feta, refrigerate for several hours for the flavors to blend.