Every cook seeks to add some variety to the side dish menu. So often potatoes and rice are the traditional sides appearing on the dinner plate. Why not serve up some delicious tasty pasta salad? This recipe is very easy, and you can alter it to incorporate ingredients you have on hand.

This dish is best served warm, but don’t toss the leftovers. They are also good cold, or you can do a quick warm in the microwave. Don’t warm too long, though, because you don’t want to “cook” the mayonnaise. You can mix up different pastas, using some colored rotini for some flair.

I often mix together traditional “white” enriched pasta along with some whole grain or spinach varieties. My family will eat spinach and whole wheat pasta if it is not the only pasta in the dish, so just toss some of those along with the regular pasta, adjusting the ratios as desired.

This recipe is very flexible, allowing you to utilize leftovers and food you have on hand. Summer garden vegetables work great in this recipe. If you don’t have the exact ingredients listed, feel free to substitute items you do have, using your culinary creativity.

Eight ounces of pasta makes about 4-6 side dish servings. You can increase or decrease quantities as needed.

Ingredients:

* 8 ounces of pasta (mix different pastas together such as elbow macaroni, piccolini, and colorful rotini)
* Red and/or yellow bell pepper
* Green onions
* Celery
* Black Olives
* Bacon (4-5 slices per 8 ounces pasta)
* Salt, Pepper, Italian Seasoning
* Mayonnaise
* Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

1. Cook bacon and set aside to drain.
2. Dice all of the vegetables into small dice. Total of all vegetables is 1 cup per 8 ounces of pasta, no need to get too exact here.
3. Assemble the vegetables on a plate, sprinkle with Italian Seasoning (be generous), salt and pepper, and set aside. If you want to spice things up a little, add some crushed red pepper flakes.
4. This pasta dish is best served warm, so finish other dinner preparations.
5. About 15 minutes before dinner, cook pasta according to directions.
6. Drain pasta, DO NOT RINSE.
7. Add vegetables and crumbled bacon to pasta.
8. Add mayonnaise to pasta and stir, use about 1/2 cup per 8 ounces of pasta, or according to taste.
9. Stir gently with rubber spatula.
10. Add grated Parmesan Cheese to top and pepper again (fresh ground black pepper is best).
11. Serve immediately (again, best served WARM).

Be creative and add other ingredients you have on hand. You can add leftover meat, green olives, or small cheddar cheese squares. If you are a gardener, this is a great way to utilize your vegetable bounty. Hot peppers, yellow squash, zucchini, tomatoes, snow or English peas, and eggplant are delicious in this salad.

By: Laura Maness Brown

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How To Cook Pork Chops

With the holidays upon us its great to have a couple of quick go-to recipes to make for yourself or family and friends that are easy to do with most pantry items you probably already have. Pasta dishes are the best go-to because of how easy they are to make and they require only a few items.

1. Spaghetti with oil & garlic
- 1 pound thin spaghetti
- 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 5-6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste

Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of salted boiling water. Drain. In a small skillet heat the oil. Add the garlic and quickly saute’ until the garlic begins to brown. Place the spaghetti in serving bowl. Add the garlic and oil, toss. Season with salt & pepper. Serves 4.

2. Spaghetti with tomato sauce
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 large can crushed tomatoes, 28 oz
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh italian parsley
- salt & pepper to taste
- freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a large skillet, heat the oil. Add the garlic and saute’ for 1-2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes and cook uncovered over a low heat for 15-20 minutes. Cook the pasta in a pot of boiling salted water. Drain. Add the basil and parsley to the sauce. Stir well. Place the pasta in a serving bowl. Toss with the sauce and season to taste. Sprinkle with cheese. Serves 4.

By: Charmaine Hearn

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Easy Dessert Recipes