Left overs!

So tonight Dan and I needed a quick supper.  I still had some Sun dried-Tomato Pasta Salad left so I decided to use that.  I took some skinless boneless chicken breast poured a bunch of garlic powder and some olive oil in a pan and cooked it up.  Then I added the rest of my leftover pasta salad.  Let it simmer for 5-10 mins on medium heat and VIOLA! Sun dried-Tomato Pasta.  It was fabulous - maybe even better than the pasta salad.  And we have some still left over.

nom nom nom

Sun dried-Tomato Pasta Salad

So I was heading to a BBQ this weekend and thought I should bring along a salad.  I wasn't sure what type to make until I stumbled across sun dried tomato pesto at the grocery store.  Once I saw that pesto I knew I had to make Sun dried-Tomato Pasta Salad.....YUM!

Sun dried-Tomato Pasta Salad

What you will need:

• 1 box of rotini noddles
• 1 container of sun-dried tomato pesto (I think I got Bertolli brand)
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 tbs of olive oil
• 1 small or medium onion, diced
• 1/2 cup of assorted olives, diced
• 3 vine tomatoes, in small chunks or a pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
• salt and pepper to taste
• grated cheddar or Parmesan cheese

What you do:

• Take the sun-dried tomato pesto, garlic, onion and olive oil and place it in your food processor.  Whirrrrrr it up.  Put this aside (preferably the day before) and let it rest.
• Cook rotini noodles and set aside to cool.
• Once noodles are cool take your pesto concoction, add tomatoes, olives and onions and mix together. 
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Place in a decorative bowl with serving spoons.  Sprinkle with cheese.
• Enjoy!!

Cooking with class

I don't think I'm a horrible cook.  I can whip up a meal in good time.  And I have some  tested and true receipes that I follow.  Dan, almost, always likes what I make for dinner and I've heard few complaints from guests that stop by.  However, I'm leary of trying new things in the kitchen.  I always enjoy new tastes when I'm out, but ask me to cook it and I'm going to freeze.  I can take my old recipes and adjust them...add more of this, less of that, throw in pork instead of chicken, etc.  But brand new flavours make me nervous. 

So last night I challenged myself.  I wanted to try something new, something different.  So I made Katie's Mustard Baked Chicken.  (I must confess that I've made the chicken before just not the pasta...and I only put a LITTLE of the paprika last time.  I was ascared!)

So how did it turn out, you ask? WONDERFUL!!  The chicken was delicious (this time I followed the receipe to a T) and the pasta (with some grilled veggies) was delicious!  I think I'm on the road to new adventures in the kitchen.  But we'll see...