Thursday, June 23, 2016

Recipe Redux: Tortellini Pepperoncini Salad


It's been a stormy morning y'all.

The hubby woke me up at 6 this morning to let me know a monster storm was on the way. I roused myself from slumber, shuffled my way to the den window that faces the northwest, and took a peep. Oh yeah, I could see the storm coming. I could see the lighting from miles away! We are prone to losing power out here in the country with these big wind storms, so I booked it to the coffee machine. I brewed 2 cups before the storm hit. I figured if I lost power at least I would have a 2nd cup of coffee, even if it turned out to be lukewarm. Lukewarm caffeine is better than none I figured :-)

Luckily, the storm passed without much fanfare. I lost power for 1.2 seconds, not bad. That 2nd cup of coffee ended up in the microwave for 30 seconds, but at least I was prepared. We've been really fortunate with storms this year. We keep getting warnings for 60-70 mph wind, to expect roof and siding damage, maybe an isolated tornado... and not getting much. Storms seem to be splitting and moving around our house this year. I know how ridiculous that must sound, but that's just how it seems. We haven't had to deal with much of anything in regards to spring and summer storms. We do live right by the Ohio River and there's a huge hill-system in between us and the river. I sometimes wonder if the hills have something to do with the weather splitting around us. However, I did just Google that and found nothing... so, probably not.

I'm feeling fortunate about the storm loosing steam this morning. I was worried about our relatively new evergreen, the tall one that leans a ton. I could really see it getting knocked around in the wind, but so far, so good.


So, let's get to another Recipe Redux! I've been making this salad for years. I love it! For me, it's hard to go wrong with this salad. 

Cheesy tortellini? Check. 

Spicy pepperoncinis? Got it. 

Protein-filled chickpeas? Yes!

 Lovely, crisp spinach and tomatoes? You get the picture.

Here's the original:


I have to say, the color is pretty good on that old picture. It just need a little styling.



You are going to need tortellini. Imagine that! Ha ha. You can use any kind you like. I used whole-wheat cheese-filled tortellini for this salad but I have also used-

Regular cheese-filled tortellini
Tri-Colored tortellini
Italian Sausage tortellini
Chicken Spinach tortellini

You cannot go wrong with the flavor of the tortellini here.


I'll eat chickpeas any way I can take them. I like them in hummus. I like them in pasta. I like them in salads. Chickpeas? Goooooood.



The freshies- spinach, grape tomatoes, red onion, capers, pepperoncini, and some garden-grown basil.


The dressing is nothing more than olive oil and fresh lemon juice. That's all you need!



Toss everything together and add parmesan cheese. 



This is really great, easy, and fast summer salad. I chop the salad and throw everything in a bowl while the tortellini is cooking. I run the tortellini under cold water when it's done, and then add it to the salad. A quick drizzle of the dressing, toss, and dinner is served. 

Seriously guys. About 30 minutes is all you are going to need, and that time should include cleanup. Easy. Peasy.



Poor little Mariota is going to the vet today for his annual checkup and vaccines. I am not looking forward to this. Mariota is not the best behaved dog in public. He rooster-barks at every person he sees. A rooster-bark is a loud, high-pitched, "sound the alarm" bark that Mariota does. It's downright embarrassing. Not to mention the fact that he bit a vet tech last year, prompting them to give me information on dog training classes. Ugh. We went to the class. It helped, but it didn't solve our problems. I am crossing my fingers, my toes, my legs... anything I can cross in hopes he does not bite anyone today. Luckily, he's a 4-lb dog so he doesn't concern anyone too much, but still. 

Here's hoping Mariota keeps that little mouth shut today!! :-)

Happy Thursday friends!


Recipe slightly adapted from: Cooking Light

Ingredients (serves 4-6):

9 oz tortellini, cooked to package directions, rinsed under cold water
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
2 cups fresh spinach
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup pepperoncinis, thinly sliced
1/4 cup capers
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 (16 oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Combine tortellini, tomatoes, spinach, onion, capers, basil,  and chickpeas in large bowl.
2. In a small bowl, combine olive oil and lemon juice. Whisk briskly to emulsify. Drizzle dressing over salad. Season with salt and pepper. Toss the salad to distribute the dressing. Top salad with parmesan cheese. Divide salad among plates, serve immediately.



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12 comments:

  1. I love your love of chickpeas! I just love them so much :) This whole salad is perfection, right down to the pepperoncinis.
    Glad you didn't loose power. I try not to talk about our storms and loosing power out here. I'm to afraid of jinxing things ;)

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    Replies
    1. Ohhhh, chickpeas are the best! The hubby doesn't love them as much as me, or I would use them a lot more :-)

      While I'm glad the storms avoided us, I'm wishing the weather wouldn't have hit our area so hard, especially West Virginia. Not everyone was as fortunate as us.

      Hope you are having a great weekend Kris!

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  2. Glad the storms have passed you by.

    This salad looks delicious.

    Hope all goes well with Mariota at the vet. ;-)

    Have a good day and a great weekend ~ FlowerLady

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    1. Me too! It's been lovely here the last couple of days. Better for my garden!

      Mariota did not do so well at the vet, as he bit one of the techs. Luckily he's a small dog, but still! Little bugger.

      Hope you are having a great weekend too FlowerLady! :-)

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  3. As scary as they can be, I kinda miss those Kentucky storms here in Germany :) I am a storm enthusiast.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have to admit, I love the storms too. We just didn't have that kind of weather in Oregon. I can count on one hand the amount of times I saw lighting in Oregon. That being said, I enjoy the storms a bit more when they aren't strong enough to knock out our power :-)

      Hope you are having a great weekend Keith!

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  4. The salad looks great and I'm glad the storm went around you! I'm dying to know what you thought of roasted radishes.

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    Replies
    1. I am too! We've had a lovely weekend after such a stormy end to our week :-)

      I did not get a chance to roast the radishes. Balderdash. I did pass them along to the hubby's family to enjoy though. I planted more radishes last week though, so I have plans for that crop!

      Hope you are having a great weekend Carlee!

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  5. This salad sounds and looks delicious! We have "a month of salads" at our house between July 15 and August 15 when it's just too hot to cook at all - and I think this might just be the ticket for one of those nights! P.S. - I sent you a FB email - 2 of your recipes are really doing well on our Pinterest boards!

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    Replies
    1. We do the same! It gets waaaaay to hot to cook around here too. I have to say though, I've been eating salads all summer as it's already felt too warm to be comfortable :-)

      Thanks for letting me know about Pinterest, I know I mentioned I have a hard time with the analytics!

      Hope you had a great holiday Kelli!

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  6. Replies
    1. Thank you Catherine!

      I hope you had a great holiday! :-)

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