Southwest Pasta Salad

Sam's mom gave me this recipe and I love it. It's really easy to make and is great for potlucks. But be aware, the whole recipe makes a ton of salad. If I'm just feeding our family, I half the recipe and we still have leftovers. Anna likes it warmed.

I put *asterisks* around ingredients I usually leave out and {brackets} around ingredients I like to add

SOUTHWEST PASTA SALAD

Cook 1 pound tricolor pasta until al dente; do not overcook

In a large bowl, combine the pasta with

½ cup finely chopped red onions

*½ green pepper, finely chopped*

1 cup frozen or canned corn(I just use a whole can of corn)

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 small can chopped green chili peppers (sometimes I leave these out and it's still good)

1 15 oz. can kidney beans, or black beans rinsed and drained (I still use the whole can, even when I half the recipe)

4 ounces cubed or shredded cheese (cheddar, taco mix, or colby jack works well)

{half to a whole avocado}

{one or two tomatoes, or some salsa}

{one or two whole green onions}

{chopped black olives}

{some chicken that I stir fried in garlic powder, chili powder, and oregano)

Whisk together these sauce ingredients in small bowl and then pour over those in the large bowl

3 Tbsp olive oil

3 Tbsp chicken or vegetable broth

5 Tbsp white-wine vinegar

3 Tbsp tomato sauce (or spaghetti sauce)

2 cloves minced garlic

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dried oregano

Orange Shrimp with Fettuccine

We got this from the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. I imagine it might taste good cold, too, but we had it hot.
-Steve

12 oz fresh or frozen peeled and deveined shrimp
6 oz dried fettuccine or linguine (this was far too little for the amount of sauce produced, we thought, so we'd double it to 12 oz. next time)
1 red or green sweet pepper, cut into 3/4 in. squares
1 T cooking oil
1/2 tsp finely shredded orange peel
2/3 c. orange juice
1 T cornstarch
1 tsp chicken bouillon granules
1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil (we just used olive oil)
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground red pepper (all we had were red pepper flakes)
6 oz. frozen pea pods, thawed
2 oranges, peeled and sectioned

1. Thaw shrimp and peapods. Cook fettuccine for 8 to 10 min. or till tender but still firm. Drain well; keep warm.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook sweet pepper in hot oil for 1 to 2 minutes or till crisp-tener. Remove from skillet. Add shrimp to skillet; cook and stir about 2 minutes or till shrimp turn pink. Remove shrimp.

3. Combine orange peel, orange juice, cornstarch, bouillon, sesame oil, salt, and ground red pepper; add to skillet. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Retrun shrimp and sweet pepper to skillet; stir to coat. Gently stir in pea pods and orange sections; heat through. Serve shrimp mixture over fettuccine.

Doug's Recommended Cold Oriental Noodle Salad

From cooks.com
Says Doug: "This is a good food for summer, where you want cold foods. You cut the scrambled eggs and cucumbers into very thin strips and eat them with chilled noodles. Delicious!"

8 oz. dried somen noodles
1 tbsp. sesame seed oil
1 lb. shrimp, shelled & deveined
1 tsp. oil
1 egg, beaten
1 Japanese cucumber, thinly sliced
Oriental Dressing (see below)

Cook noodles in boiling water 3 minutes, or until tender, stirring occasionally; drain. Place noodles in a large bowl and toss lightly with sesame oil; cover and refrigerate. Cook shrimp in boiling water for 2 minutes. Place in ice water, then pat dry and refrigerate.

In a small skillet heat oil, pour in egg and make a thin sheet of scrambled egg. Cut into strips. Arrange noodles, shrimp, egg and cucumber on serving platter. Accompany with Oriental Dressing.

ORIENTAL DRESSING:

1/4 c. rice vinegar
2 tbsp. shoyu
4 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1 1/2 tsp. minced ginger
1/2 tsp. minced garlic

Combine all ingredients; mix well. Makes 1/2 cup.