Chicken Pasta Salad

This is a recent find, and what drew me to it is that it does not have a mayonnaise-based dressing. It is light and refreshing, and very tasty. The original recipe can be found here, at Two Peas and Their Pod. This can be served as a Main Dish, or as a Side Dish.

 

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For the Dressing (see note below)

1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 cloves grlic, minced

Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

For the Pasta Salad

1 pound penne pasta, or something else, similar

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders, that have been cooked and chopped

6 strips of bacon, cooked and chopped

2 1/2 cups halved grape or cherry tomatoes

3 green onions, thinly sliced

1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (at the time, I only had dried basil on hand)

Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

extra basil and Parmesan cheese for garnishing

Directions

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente, drain, and transfer to a large serving bowl.

2. Prepare the dressing by combining the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, hone, Dijon mustard, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl, and whisk until well-combined. 

3. Add the cooked chicken and bacon, tomatoes, green onions, Parmesan cheese, and the basil to the pasta. Pour the dressing over on top and toss until well combined. Season with salt and pepper, and additional basil and parmesan cheese, if desired.

Note

I added some additional lemon zest, lemon juice and honey to boost the flavor even more. 

Orange Cream Cake

This recipe can be found at Taste of Home Orange Dream Cake.

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Cake
1 package lemon cake mix
1 (0.15 oz.) envelope orange Kool Aid soft drink mix
3 eggs
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Topping
1 (3 oz.) package orange jello
1 cup boiling water
1 cup cold water

Frosting
1 (3.4 oz.) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (3 oz.) package orange jello
1 cup cold milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 (8 oz.) carton Cool Whip

To make the cake:
Combine the cake mix, Kool Aid, eggs, water, and oil. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour into a greased 9 x 13" pan. Bake 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and poke holes in the cake all over with the tines of a fork. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes.

To make the topping:
Dissolve the jello in the boiling water, and stir for 2 minutes. Add the cold water and mix well. Pour over the cake. Cover the pan and refrigerate for 2 hours.

To make the frosting:
In a large bowl, combine the pudding mix, orange jello mix, cold milk, and vanilla and beat on low for 2 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes. Fold in the Cool Whip and mix until thoroughly combined. Frost the chilled cake and serve.

Store the cake in the refrigerator.

Strawberry Pretzel Dessert

I've never made this, but I did have it somewhere, only I don't remember where. I remember it being very good.

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Crust
1 1/2 cups crushed pretzels
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted

1st Layer
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
2 (8 oz) cartons Cool Whip, divided

2nd Layer
2 (3 oz.) packages strawberry jello mix
2 cups boiling water
2 packages frozen strawberries, about 16-20 oz, total


To make the crust:
Mix together the pretzels, sugar and butter in a bowl and press into a lightly greased 9 x 13" pan. Bake 375 degrees for about 7 minutes. Cool.

To make the 1st layer:
Cream the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl. Fold in the Cool Whip and spread over the crust.

To make the 3rd layer:
Dissolve the jello in the boiling water and then stir in the frozen strawberries, stirring until jello mixture has thickened. Pour over the cream cheese mixture. Chill several hours, until set. Spread second carton Cool Whip on top and serve. Store in the refrigerator.

Lemon Lime Jello Poke Cake

In searching for a different recipe online, I came upon this website that had a cake recipe that I used to make for my kids' birthdays, when they were little. Because most of them happened to have birthdays in the summertime, I wanted something that was light and refreshing. This certainly fit the bill, and it was easy to make, and delicious, too.

Since it is always nice to have a photograph of the finished product of any recipe I post (and since I don't have one of my own yet), I decided to post a link to the recipe blog where I found this recipe. I'll have to find my own recipe, then compare the two. There are some slight differences, but I'll come back and post them if they are significant. One difference I will mention is that I used an 8-oz container of Cool Whip in place of the Dream Whip. See note below.

The recipe can be found here at Cleverly Simple: Lemon Lime Jello Poke Cake. 

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1 box Duncan Hines Lemon Supreme cake mix - Baked according to package directions in a 9 x 13" pan
1 (3-oz) package lime jello
3/4 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cold water

Frosting
1 small box (3 oz) lemon instant pudding mix
1 envelope Dream Whip
1 1/2 cups cold milk

1. As stated, bake the cake mix according to package directions in a 9 x 13" pan. Cool cake for 20 - 25 minutes.

2. While the cake is cooling, prepare the jello as follows: Combine the jello mix with  the boiling water and stir until dissolved. Add the cold water and stir. Let cool to room temperature.

3. Using the tines of a fork, poke holes all over the cake and pour cooled jello over the top. Refrigerate the cake until it has chilled.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the frosting by beating the lemon pudding and Dream Whip mixes together with the cold milk. Spread over the top of the cake and refrigerate. Store cake in the refrigerator.


Note: If you prefer, or have trouble finding the Dream Whip (which can be found in the baking aisle in your grocery store along with the cake mixes and canned frosting), you may use an 8-oz container of Cool Whip. Just prepare the pudding mix by mixing with the 1 1/2 cups cold milk (since you want a stiffer pudding, you use less milk than called for in the directions on the box). Let set. Fold in the Cool Whip and spread over the cake.