Blue Cheese Pasta Salad

From:  Bethany Tuft

Salad
8 oz. (3 cups) spiral pasta
3 cups sliced/diced zucchini
6-8 Italian plum tomatoes; sliced
2 C. fresh mushrooms
4 T. chopped red OR green onions

Dressing
2 C. reduced calorie Italian salad dressing (try to find a tomato-based one)
6 T. chopped fresh basil
2 T. crumbled blue cheese
1/4 tsp. course ground pepper

Shredded Parmesan cheese for garnishing.

1. Cook pasta according to package
2. In a large bowl combine zucchini, tomatoes, mushrooms, and onion
3. Drain pasta and rinse in cold water.  Drain well.  Add to vegetable mixture.
4. In a blender, combine all dressing ingredients and blend until well mixed.  
5. Pour over salad and toss gently. 
6. Garnish with basil leaves and Parmesan cheese.
7. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate.  

Sweet Pork Burritos or Salads (Costa Vida Style)

Tried these, LOVE them, and they are so much cheaper than a trip to the restaurant! It makes a TON (like 12-15 burritos) so you can freeze some for later too. Also, it ends up being between $1.50-$2.00 per burrito verses $6.99 in the restaurant! These are very similar to the real thing, which would have been nice to have this recipe in TX since they don't have a Costa Vida or Cafe Rio in San Antonio!!

To make a Sweet Pork Burrito...

Add the following to your tortilla

1. Black or Pinto Beans (we just bought Bush's Black Beans in a can)
2. Cilantro Lime Rice (recipe below)
3. Sweet Pork (recipe below)
4. Green Chile Enchilada sauce (just buy a can from the store)
5. Mozzarella Cheese (We used the Mexican Blend Cheese from Kraft)

Smother with additional sauce and cheese if desired.

Put it in the oven or microwave to melt the cheese.

And on the side (if you want to):

Green Leaf Lettuce

Pico de Gallo

SWEET PORK MEAT:

4 lb. pork roast (make sure it's the butt/rump roast)

I made the roast the day before to cut back on time the day of making these

2 cups brown sugar

1 (12-14 oz.) jar salsa

1 can Coke (12 oz.)

Place roast in crock pot, fill half way with water and cook for 6-8 hours on high

Discard water and shred meat; return to the crock pot

Combine sugar, salsa, and coke in a separate bowl.

Add mixture to the meat in the crock pot.

Cook an additional 3 hours. Stir occasionally.

CILANTRO LIME RICE:

2 cups rice

4 cups water

1/2 cup lime juice

chopped cilantro (use about 1/4 of the bunch)

Add everything to a pot and cook according to package directions

***SALAD***SALAD***SALAD***SALAD***

Do everything you did above, except instead of making a burrito, add it to some green leaf lettuce and make the following dressing...

TOMATILLO RANCH DRESSING

In a blender combine:

1 Buttermilk Ranch Mix packet

2 cups mayo

2 cups buttermilk (or 1 cup sour cream and 1 cup milk)

2 tomatillos

1 jalapeno, seeded

1/2 - 1 bunch cilantro

1 Tbs lime juice

1 clove garlic, crushed

(I didn't add garlic and it still tasted YUMMY!!)

Craisin Spinach Salad w/ Red Wine Vinaigrette

Salad:
1 bag spinach
½ c. diced red onion
Candy almonds (make the same way as Apple Spinach Salad)
Craisins

Dressing:
¾ c. olive oil
1/8 c. water
¾ c. red wine vinegar
1 c. sugar

1. Place dressing ingredients in blender and mix until well blended.
2. Toss with salad and serve

Note: This makes a good amount of dressing but will keep in the fridge for about a week or so.

Apple Spinach Salad

Salad:
1 bag spinach
1 bag romaine
7 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
1 bag slivered almonds
1 green apple, sliced

1. Sugar coat the almonds by placing the almonds in a medium saucepan with about a ½ cup of sugar.
2. Stir over medium heat until sugar melts and coats almonds. Let cool on a glass pan so they won’t stick.
3. Will last for about a week in an airtight container.

Dressing:
1/8 red onion very thinly sliced
1/3 c. oil
¼ c. sugar
¼ tsp. salt
3 Tbs. white vinegar

4. Mix together and toss with salad.