Pasta Salad - 3 Quick Meals in Minutes

Pasta salads are a great way to make a quick meal any day of the week. In the time it takes to cook the pasta you can prepare your additional ingredients and serve your meal in no time.

These easy pasta recipes are simple to make with just a few ingredients and are flavorful ideas for when you want a simple and fast meal. Each of these recipes will make approximately two servings.

You will also find some simple serving suggestions for each pasta salad to make meal planning a breeze.

Broccoli Pasta Salad

- 1 cup cooked whole-grain rotini pasta

- 2 cups broccoli florets - (cut into bite-size pieces and steamed lightly if desired)

- ½ cup canned, drained mandarin orange segments - (reserve juice from oranges)

- ½ cup bottled honey Dijon dressing

- 1 tablespoon (or as desired) of reserved juice from oranges

- 2 tablespoon sliced almonds

Instructions:

- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and toss well. Adjust dressing to taste, if needed.

Quick Meal Ideas:

Pasta and Seafood:

Combine shelled, cooked shrimp with some chopped tomato, celery and cilantro with a squeeze of lemon juice and serve along with this easy salad.

Quick Pasta Meal:

Make a simple presentation of this quick pasta salad by serving it on a bed of mixed salad greens along with sliced and toasted French bread spread with olive tapenade.

Optional Additions:

* Add crumbled cooked bacon, or some canned, drained and flaked tuna or browned and cubed tempeh.

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Creamy Garlic Pasta Salad

- 2 cups cooked whole-grain penne pasta

- 1 cup cherry tomatoes - (cut tomatoes in half)

- ½ cup pitted kalamata olives - (cut each olive in half)

- ½ cup low-fat mayonnaise or low-fat plain yogurt

- 1 clove of garlic - (minced)

Instructions:

- In a bowl, combine the pasta, tomatoes and olives.

- In a smaller bowl, combine the mayonnaise or yogurt with the garlic and stir to combine.

- Add the garlic mixture to the salad ingredients and toss well.

Quick Meal Ideas:

Quick Pasta Meal:

For an easy and quick meal idea, try serving this pasta salad with a bowl of black bean soup.

Salad Meal:

Serve salad on a bed of romaine lettuce and baby spinach leaves along with sweet and sour pickles or dill pickles.

Optional Additions:

* Add some roughly chopped fresh basil.

* Add some extra vegetables like sliced green bell peppers and/or marinated artichoke hearts.

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Easy Pesto Pasta Salad

- 3 cups cooked whole-grain rotelle pasta

- 1 ½ cups red bell pepper - (diced)

- 1 hard cooked egg - (chopped)

- ½ cup prepared basil pesto or sun-dried tomato pesto

Instructions:

- In a bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix well.

Quick Meal Ideas:

Quick Pasta Meal:

Serve salad along with thinly sliced smoked salmon layered on tomato slices and drizzled with some fresh squeezed lemon juice.

Salad Meal:

For an easy meal, try serving salad with steamed broccoli and mushrooms tossed with olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper.

Optional Additions:

* Add some capers and/or oil-cured olives.

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Mamma Mia! An Easy, Authentic Italian Pasta Sauce!

Authentic Italian Pasta Sauce:

A good marinara sauce is hard to come by if you do not have an Italian grandmother to whip one up in the kitchen! Instead, you are left to your devices. However, it is not difficult to make an authentic Italian pasta sauce. All you need are fresh ingredients, and a little bit of time to make the perfect sauce. First of all, you will need to get the following:

• 2 small cans of pureed tomato
• 3 tomatoes
• 1 small can of crushed tomatoes
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 1 small can of skinless tomatoes
• 1 red onion
• 2 tablespoons of basil
• 1 tablespoons of oregano
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup of milk

Now, of course, you can always add more spices or take away the cheese depending on how you want to tailor your recipe. If you want to add meat, then buy one pound of ground beef to add to the sauce once it is nearly done. This will make the sauce rich and satisfying to any bolognaise lover! However, the following instructions will teach you how to make a basic marinara.

Getting Started

First of all, the key to a great marinara sauce is having the patience to water it down and wait for it to reduce several times. However, more on that later. The first thing you need to do is peel your tomatoes, and crush their them in a separate bowl.

Next, you will need to dice the onion and garlic into little pieces. Sauté them with a little of butter. Once they are nice a brown along the edges you can add in your spices and the rest of the tomatoes. You will need to stir this continually as the sauce comes together. It is best if you use a non stick pan on a low heat setting. Add a cup of water if it looks to dry. Keep adding water as it starts to simmer down low. You will need to do this continually for at least an hour.

Your sauce should be a rich red and thick to touch. Now, the trick that my nonna use is to add a little bit of milk at the end and a sprinkle of sugar. This will make your pasta sauce a little creamier, and ultimately Italian. Finish it off with a little sprinkle of cheese of Parmesan, and it is good to go!