Lemon Poppy Pasta Salad

What’s the one thing you’re guaranteed to find at most potlucks in the South?

If you guessed macaroni and cheese . . . you’re actually correct . . . but that’s not what this post is about. This is about the runner-up to mac-n-cheese: your friend and mine . . . pasta salad.


Most pasta salads below the Mason Dixon Line usually include 3 staples: pasta (duh), ham, and Duke’s mayonnaise. (Yes Duke’s and Duke’s only. Not the pansy Miracle Whip.) My pasta salad includes only ONE of those 3 and that is the most obvious ingredient; pasta.

In MOST circumstances, the typical pasta salad is very deceptive when it comes to nutrition. One may hear the word “salad” and see a few vegetables mixed with mayo-laden, salt shaken, diet breakin’ pasta and think it’s a “healthy” choice. And in MOST circumstances one would pile it high (right beside the mac-n-cheese) on the plate and go about their merry way. Well friends, you don’t have to worry about my recipe. This recipe is mayo-free (GASP), meat-free (DOUBLE GASP), and for the most part, guilt-free. *


*Disclaimer: The reason I say “for the most part” is because it still includes pasta and while, yes, the pasta is whole wheat, it’s still a carb and still has calories so don’t eat a whole plate of in one sitting and then go back for more…although you might be tempted. However if you want to run a few miles in between consumption then an exception could be made.

Back to the recipe. The flavor in this pasta salad is light with a hint of lemon and extremely satisfying in warm weather. A perfect recipe for spring or summer.

Ingredients
I box whole wheat rigatoni pasta
1 medium cucumber, peeled, quartered and diced
3 bell peppers, diced ( I used green, yellow and orange)
1 ½ cups grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
¾ cup low fat poppy seed dressing
1 ½ tsp lemon juice
Salt and Pepper to taste


Prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Prepare the vegetables while the pasta is cooking and add them to a large bowl. (This recipe makes a LOT of pasta salad.)

Once the pasta has been drained, add to the vegetables, sprinkle with salt and pepper and combine well.

In a small bowl, whisk together poppy seed dressing, sour cream, and lemon juice. Add to pasta salad and mix until well coated. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours. I let mine sit overnight so the flavors can really marry.



I took this to a church supper social and it was devoured. If you like pasta salad you’ll love this recipe.

Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast

I have had the WORST time with my sinuses lately. Sleep is something I vaguely remember. I go to bed with headaches and wake up every hour, on the hour. This morning was no different. At 4:30 I finally decided to go ahead and get out of the bed. I figured, it's Sunday so I'll go prep some things to have for lunch after church and clean the kitchen.

After surveying the pantry, cupboards, and refrigerator I decided to use some potatoes before they went bad...I'll post that recipe late. I saw the box of frozen spinach and remembered promising my husband I would make him spinach stuffed chicken breasts . . . 3 weeks ago. Stuffed chicken breasts it is.



The recipe is really easy and uses thing you probably already have on hand. I would have added some ricotta cheese to the spinach mix but I didn't have any on hand and it was just as delicious without it.

Here's what you'll need for the chicken:
4-5 Boneless skinless chicken breasts*
1 (10-oz.) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 TBSP grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp minced garlic
1 TBSP Italian seasoning
Salt and Pepper to taste
4-5 TBSP your favorite Marinara sauce, optional
*make sure they're about the same size

Carefully slice the chicken along the side...kind of like a hot dog bun. I think the term is "butterfly" but I'm not sure so to say it should resemble a hot dog bun is pretty accurate.

In a small bowl combine spinach, Parmesan cheese, and garlic. If you wanted to add some cheese, ricotta would be a nice choice here...just make sure you squeeze as much water out of the spinach as possible before mixing everything together. Fill each chicken breast with some of the "spinach stuffing." I used toothpicks to "sew" the sides up so that the spinach wouldn't come out.

Spray a shallow baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and place the chicken breasts in the dish. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper and bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes.



During the last 5 minutes, I put a tablespoon of the marinara sauce on each of the chicken breasts and let them finish cooking. The end result was delicious and made a pretty presentation.

Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal Banana Bread

I LOVE cinnamon-raisin anything and I LOVE LOVE LOVE banana bread. I picked up some bananas the other day that were on sale and after a few days of sitting on my counter they were starting to get ripe.

Now, if you're like me, you'll eat that naner...the riper the better. However, most would probalby be looking for ways to use up those beauties before the cross the threshhold from ripe to rotten. I found a recipe for Oatmeal-Banana Bread on Cooking Light's website and I changed a lot of things and added a few more ingredients.

My Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal Banana Bread interpretation is BIG on flavor and I tried to cut as many calories as possible to make it healthy for you as well. I went to livestrong.com and plugged my recipe in to calculate the nutrition facts and this bread only has 125 calories per serving. YESSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Makes 1 loaf, 16 slices
Ingredients
• 1 cup Splenda
• 7 tbsp Non-Fat Yogurt (plain or vanilla)*
• 4 large Egg Whites
• 2 medium Bananas
• 1 cup Regular Rolled Oats
• 1/2 cup Almond Milk
• 1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/2 cup Unbleached Self-rising Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tbsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1 cup Raisins
*you can use oil or applesauce to substitute as well

In a small medium/large bowl, combine the Splenda, yogurt, and egg whites and stir with a whisk until combined. In a seperate bowl, peel and mash the bananas, add almond milk and oats and mix well. Add to egg mixture and combine again.

In another bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon and stir with a whisk to make sure it all mixes well. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until moistened. Lastly, stir in the raisins until well combined. (Batter will be thick)

Spoon batter into a 9 inch loaf pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for about 55 minutes to an hour or until it passes the toothpick test.

Allow it to cool 10 minutes in pan then transfer to a wire rack to cool compeltely before slicing.


The top crust has a nice crunch to it and the inside is really moist and perfect for the lovers of cinnamon, raisins, and banana flavors as I am!