Pasta Salad and Summer Closure
Why do things always seem to come in little bouts of busy? It seems like once I start being busy, I'm just going for a week or so straight. Then again, looking at the weeks ahead, maybe it's just time to be busy. Forget the little bouts idea.
But I do have an exciting announcement. But I'll let this card that I got from mom earlier this week do it for me:
Leave it to mom to find that card while on vacation with auntie. You can tell they are related.
I actually found out last week. What a relief. I feel like now my life can go back to a somewhat normal mood/stress level. It was getting pretty crazy there at the end.
And so I spent a weekend celebrating my freedom (until next summer) by celebrating ZNS, DN, JB and DB's birthdays with the S family and watching football with KEB, JB and JK. Oh, and NES and I celebrated ourselves with a dinner that involved a pile of cheesy waffle fries. Don't judge us.
And then on Monday, the back-to-reality-now-that-you've-passed-some-exams-get-to-work-on-projects letter came. And even mentioned (indirectly) the d word. Yikes.
Anyway, I was tasked with making a salad (and providing ice cream from our favorite ice cream place, which is still sitting in our freezer . . . I won't complain about apple cider donut ice cream, though!) for the birthday extravaganza.
I knew I wanted to make a pasta salad, and was thinking of making mom's version: pasta with cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers, complete with Good Seasons Italian dressing. It was one of my favorites growing up. I also may have promised NES that I'd make it with the dressing on the side, since he would take plain pasta over pasta with any sort of sauce any day.
But I kind of wanted orzo too. KEB made a super tasty orzo salad this summer for a party. So, I ended up splitting the difference. I kind of combined both.
I think one of my favorite parts of KEB's salad was the corn. Mmm. I never would have thought of putting corn into a pasta salad. However, PNS was already bringing corn on the cob, so I figured we didn't need more corn. So, instead, I went with cucumbers, peppers and the leftover matchstick carrots I had in the fridge.
I also may have made a TON of salad. I had to pull the big stock pot out to cook the orzo. Oops. But I wasn't sure how many people were coming, so I figured I'm make KEB's full recipe. I think less than half was eaten. I've been eating it all week.
But, today (it took me long enough!), I realized that there was leftover corn on the cob that was just going to get thrown out in the fridge. For some reason, I just never think of eating leftover corn. So I cut off the kernels and put them in the rest of the salad! Perfect!
Orzo Pasta Salad
adapted from Curlyblonde's Kitchen
1 box orzo pasta
1 cucumber
2 yellow, red or orange peppers
1/2 bag matchstick carrots
(3/4 can of corn kernels)
1/2 cup Italian dressing
Cook the orzo according to package directions. Rinse with cold water.
Meanwhile, chop the veggies into approximately orzo-sized pieces.
Mix the chopped veggies and pasta together, and add the dressing (or keep it separate, if you wish, but I'd add a little olive oil to make sure you don't end up with one big block of orzo!).
Serves many, many.
But I do have an exciting announcement. But I'll let this card that I got from mom earlier this week do it for me:
I actually found out last week. What a relief. I feel like now my life can go back to a somewhat normal mood/stress level. It was getting pretty crazy there at the end.
And so I spent a weekend celebrating my freedom (until next summer) by celebrating ZNS, DN, JB and DB's birthdays with the S family and watching football with KEB, JB and JK. Oh, and NES and I celebrated ourselves with a dinner that involved a pile of cheesy waffle fries. Don't judge us.
But I kind of wanted orzo too. KEB made a super tasty orzo salad this summer for a party. So, I ended up splitting the difference. I kind of combined both.
I think one of my favorite parts of KEB's salad was the corn. Mmm. I never would have thought of putting corn into a pasta salad. However, PNS was already bringing corn on the cob, so I figured we didn't need more corn. So, instead, I went with cucumbers, peppers and the leftover matchstick carrots I had in the fridge.
I also may have made a TON of salad. I had to pull the big stock pot out to cook the orzo. Oops. But I wasn't sure how many people were coming, so I figured I'm make KEB's full recipe. I think less than half was eaten. I've been eating it all week.
Orzo Pasta Salad
adapted from Curlyblonde's Kitchen
1 box orzo pasta
1 cucumber
2 yellow, red or orange peppers
1/2 bag matchstick carrots
(3/4 can of corn kernels)
1/2 cup Italian dressing
Cook the orzo according to package directions. Rinse with cold water.
Meanwhile, chop the veggies into approximately orzo-sized pieces.
Mix the chopped veggies and pasta together, and add the dressing (or keep it separate, if you wish, but I'd add a little olive oil to make sure you don't end up with one big block of orzo!).
Serves many, many.
Comments
Post a Comment