Taco Pasta Salad!





This "Taco Pasta Salad" combines a taco salad, which I love, and a pasta salad!  The combination is delicious and for me, it's a great light supper or a complete lunch.  This would be a great salad to take to a potluck also, because it's really best served at room temperature, although the leftovers were very tasty also.   The ingredients are pretty basic and usually something you would have in your pantry. This takes a pound of ground beef and really stretches it. 

 Here is what you will need:

2 cups uncooked rotini pasta

1 lb. ground beef or chuck

1 envelop of taco seasoning mix

1/2 cup water

1 (10 oz.) can Rotel tomatoes with green chilies

3 cups lettuce, shredded

2 cups slightly crushed tortilla chips

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 cup sliced green onions

2 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

Dressing

1 cup ranch dressing

1/4 cup salsa

dash of hot sauce (optional)

Optional Garnishes

black olives

sour cream

jalapeno rings

fresh cilantro

Cook the pasta in salted water according to the package directions.   Once cooked, remove from heat and drain.  Rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. 

Brown the ground beef or chuck in a skillet.  I use ground chuck for anything calling for ground beef.  Drain excess grease.   Add the taco mix, water and can of Rotel.   Bring this to a low boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.  Remove from heat to cool just a little.  While it cools a bit, chop your other salad ingredients. 

When the taco meat is still warm, mix in the pasta.

In a large salad bowl, layer all of the meat and pasta mixture.

Cover the meat and pasta layer with the shredded lettuce.  Then top that with the shredded cheddar cheese.   Sprinkle the crushed tortilla chips around the edges of the  salad bowl.

 Sprinkle the top with green onion, tomatoes and any other garnishes you choose to use.  I added a dollop of sour cream to the center with some jalapeno rings. 

Mix 1 cup of your favorite ranch dressing with 1/4 cup salsa a dash of hot sauce, if you like the spiciness.   You can dress the entire salad right before serving and toss it all together or serve the dressing alongside and let each person dress their own.  I prefer to serve the dressing on the side, because the leftovers seem to be better this way and this salad doesn't really need a lot of dressing like some pasta salads.   If you don't care for ranch dressing, use what you like.  Catalina dressing is sometimes used also. 

Serve immediately!

Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Salad!

This pasta salad is so full of deliciousness it's actually a complete meal.  This makes a perfect lunch or light supper.   It's also a great recipe for potlucks or family reunions, because this makes a lot of pasta salad.  If you like broccoli salads and you also like pecan chicken salad, you will love this, because it's like combining the two in one dish.   Here is what you will need:

8 oz. bow tie pasta
1 large head of broccoli
1 cup sweet onion, diced (I used Vidalia)
2 cups seedless grapes, sliced in half (can use green, red or black)
2 cups white meat chicken, diced
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup dried cranberries or raisins
1 cup pecans, chopped (lightly toasted makes them really good)
7-8 slices of bacon cooked crisp and crumbled
1  1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tbs. Dijon or spicy brown mustard
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 Tsp. celery seeds
1/2 tsp. salt
pinch of black pepper


Cook pasta al dente or about 1 minute less than the package directions in salted water.  Rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process and drain well.

Cut the broccoli florets into bite size pieces.   In a large mixing bowl combine the broccoli, diced onion, and sliced grapes and add to the bow tie pasta.  You can use another type of pasta like penne or rotini if you prefer, but I think the bow tie looks really pretty in this.

Add in the cheese, diced chicken, dried cranberries or raisins and pecans.   You can use left over chicken breasts you have grilled or broiled or use the breast meat from a rotisserie chicken for this.

To make the dressing for the salad, in another smaller bowl, combine sugar and vinegar until the sugar is dissolved.   Mix in the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, soy sauce, celery seeds, salt and black pepper.  Whisk all of this together well.  

Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients and toss together.  Cover and chill for 2-3 hours to allow flavors to blend together.  

Right before serving, sprinkle the bacon over the top of the salad and serve.  I like to reserve the bacon to add just before serving, because the dressing and refrigeration makes it not as crisp.



Tortellini and Broccoli Harvest Salad!

This delicious broccoli salad is perfect for Springtime dining and with the addition of cheese filled tortellini, it can be a light lunch or dinner main course as well as a great side salad.  This can also be made the night before, but I do like to leave the bacon out until I serve.  I just like the bacon to remain crisp.  

This recipe is perfect to take to pot lucks or for large family gatherings, because it does make a lot of salad.  If you are cooking for a smaller family, you can easily just cut this recipe in half.  Here is what you will need for this:

1 lb. bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

20 oz. tortellini, cooked according to package direction and then drained and rinsed under cold water (can use fresh or frozen and the tri -color is pretty)

2 heads fresh broccoli, stems removed and the florets cut in bite size pieces

1 cup dried cranberries (can use raisins)

1 cup sunflower seeds

4 green onions, chopped including some of the green blades

1 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup sugar

3 Tbs. cider vinegar (white will work also)

pinch of salt

pinch of black pepper

In a large mixing bowl, combine the broccoli florets, cranberries or raisins, sunflower seeds, green onions and tortellini. 

In a smaller bowl mix the mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper and whisk until the sugar is dissolved.

Pour over the broccoli mixture and combine well.

I like to chill this for about an hour before serving, but you can serve immediately.  Right before serving, mix 2/3 of the bacon into the salad and sprinkle 1/3 on top.   This holds up well for 2-3 days in the refrigerator if you do have leftovers.

Tortellini and Broccoli Harvest Salad!