3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires: Pasta Salad

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Savory Whole Grain Pasta Salad with Lawry's

There is still a whole month of summer left and, depending on where you live, you might have a lot more balmy weather to look forward to. This means you may still have quite a few cookouts to host or to attend. Our family had two scheduled for this past weekend alone. It is times like this when it is handy to have a few go-to recipes that are easy to double or triple, depending on how many guests there will be.

One of my favorite non-dessert foods to take to a cookout is pasta salad. It is so easy to make and is a crowd-pleaser. Here is a pasta salad recipe that Jodi of Mom's Favorite Stuff and I came up with that we think will appeal to the masses, including children. We did this in conjunction with a team of Boston-area bloggers for the Lawry's "A Fabulous Summer of Flavor" Contest, which included Jodi, Niri of Mommy Niri, Kim of Mommycosm, Charlene of Charlene Chronicles, Sarah of In the Trenches of Mommyhood, and myself. Read on to see the delicious appetizer and grilled entree the rest of the team created using Lawry's Marinades and Seasoned Salt, both of which can easily be scaled up or down to feed just your own family or several families.

Recipe: Savory Whole Grain Pasta Salad

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 box (approximately 7oz) of whole grain penne pasta

1/2 box (approximately 7oz) of whole grain rotini pasta

4 to 6 whole white mushrooms

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

4oz Mozzarella cheese, cubed

2.25oz can of sliced black olives

5 or more bacon slices, cooked

Recipe: Savory Salad Dressing

INGREDIENTS:

13 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 tsp Lawry's Seasoned Salt

4 Tbsp red wine vinegar

4 tsp mustard powder

Step 1. Boil pasta according to package instructions. Rinse thoroughly in cold water and drain well.

Step 2. Wash peppers and mushrooms.

Step 3. Chop peppers, mushrooms, and previously cooked bacon into small bite size pieces.

Step 4. In a large pasta or salad serving bowl, combine the cooked pasta, cubed Mozzarella cheese, peppers, mushrooms, and bacon.

Step 5. Drain olives. Then add to contents of serving bowl.

(Click any image to enlarge)

Step 6. Combine all the ingredients for the dressing and mix well.

Step 7. Pour the dressing over the contents of the bowl. Toss until well blended.

Step 8. Cover bowl and put in refrigerator to chill for at least a half an hour prior to serving.

Serve this pasta salad as a side dish or as a light meal with fresh rolls. This recipe yields approximately 12 generous side dish servings.

Overall, this pasta salad recipe was a hit with my family. The best thing about this recipe is that you can adjust it to your family's tastes by using less seasoned salt, more bacon, less olives, etc . . .

As promised, here are two more "A Fabulous Summer of Flavor" recipes . . .

"Spicy Veggie Puffs"

Recipe can be found on Mommy Niri and on Charlene Chronicles

(Photo Credit: Jodi Grundig)

"Tango Rub"

Recipe can be found on In the Trenches of Mommyhood and on Mommycosm

(Photo Credit: Jodi Grundig)

For more great grilling tips and recipes, visit Lawrys.com and Lawry's on Facebook.

This article was written as part of a paid campaign for TheMotherhood on behalf of Lawry's, who provided product samples to use in these recipes, as well as additional product for our contest prize.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive a Lawry's Prize Pack (includes a 16oz Seasoned Salt, the Balsamic Herb Marinade, and the Seasoned Salt Marinade).

Limitations:
This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.

How to Gain Entries:

Leave a comment telling me your favorite dish to bring to a cookout. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.

2) For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3) For 10 extra entries, sign up to receive the Lawry's Newsletter (red box above right sidebar). Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments telling me you did.

4) For 1 extra entry, "Like" the 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires Facebook page, then leave a separate comment here with the link to your Facebook profile.

5) For 1 extra entry, "Like" Lawry's on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Facebook profile.

6) Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

7) Tweet about this giveaway using the hashtag #Lawrys AND linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

8) Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

9) Subscribe to A Blog of Goodies' feed (the sister site to 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)

Random Drawing:

This contest will be closed on Monday, August 22nd, 2011 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!

Scholastic Children’s Dictionary Back-To-School Blog Tour

School in our area does not resume until the end of August, but I know that, in many parts of the country, school has been back in session for awhile now. It can be tough getting back into the routine of earlier bedtimes and fitting in homework before or after dinner. Sometimes having several quick easy recipes can come in handy and can also break up the monotony of a predictable menu. There are also some easy meals that can be prepared ahead of time.

Recipe: Race Car Wheels Pasta Salad

INGREDIENTS:

1lb box of Barilla Piccolini Mini Wheels Pasta

1 pint grape tomatoes

1 cup diced celery

16oz Ken's Lite Creamy Parmesan with Cracked Peppercorn Dressing

1lb cooked sliced bacon (crumbled or chopped)

Step 1. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Rinse cooked pasta in colander under cold water and drain completely.

Step 2. Wash and dry grape tomatoes.

Step 3. Wash and dice celery. (The finer the celery is diced, the more kid-friendly this pasta salad will be.)

Step 4. In a large salad or mixing bowl, combine the cooked pasta, grape tomatoes, and diced celery and toss in approximately 1/2 to 2/3 of the bottle of creamy dressing. (Remember you can always add more if it is not enough.)

Step 5. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for two hours, if possible.

Step 6. If you are not using pre-cooked bacon, cook the sliced bacon and allow to cool to room temperature.

Step 7. Chop or crumble the cooked bacon and toss into pasta salad right before serving.

This recipe yields approximately 6 adult meal-size portions. Serve with freshly baked or store-bought French bread. We used Pillsbury Refrigerated Crusty French Loaf. You can also serve this pasta salad as a side for something easy, such as chicken nuggets or hot dogs.

More Easy School-Night Recipes:

Basic Tomato Sauce on Pasta

Popcorn Shrimp & Spinach Pasta

Chicken & Rice Slow Cooker Soup

Easy Beef and Egg Noodles

************************************************************************************

"With exciting features, accessible definitions and helpful illustrations and photographs throughout, the new Scholastic Children’s Dictionary is the essential resource that belongs in every home, classroom and library.

The 2010 edition of the Scholastic Children’s Dictionary features more than 1,000 full-color photographs, simple sentences, illustrations, and diagrams as well as newly commissioned maps of the world, the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central America. There are hundreds of new and expanded entries written by a prominent lexicographer as well as thousands of additional sample sentences to illustrate word usage. The dictionary also includes guides on grammar, punctuation and idioms and simplified pronunciations created with real kids in mind! The new Scholastic Children’s Dictionary is an essential resource that belongs in every home, classroom, and library."

Thank you for stopping by my site! I hope you have been enjoying the Scholastic Children’s Dictionary Back-To-School Blog Tour. Be sure to check out Mom Knows It All’s Back-To-School post on Friday August 20th. The final stop on the Back-To-School Blog Tour!

Through August 29th, you can receive a Free Scholastic Children's Dictionary with a qualifying order totaling more than $50 from The Scholastic Store when you use Code: SSBTS at checkout. You can also receive Free UPS Ground Shipping on orders of $25 or more.

I was compensated and received a Scholastic Children's Dictionary as a thank you for participating in this blog tour.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive a $100 Visa gift card to try out some new easy recipes AND a hardcover 2010 Edition of the Scholastic Children's Dictionary.

Limitations:

This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.

How to Gain Entries:

Leave a comment telling me what your favorite "easy recipe" to make is. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.

2)

For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3) For 10 extra entries, blog about this contest linking back to this post AND Scholastic Children's Dictionary. Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments with the link to your blog post.

4)

For 1 extra entry each, if you are a Friend of mine on Facebook and/or if you have "liked" the 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires Facebook page, then leave a separate comment here telling me so with the link to your Facebook profile.

5) For 1 extra entry each, follow Scholastic Store on Twitter and/or "Like" Scholastic Book Clubs on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment for each with the link to your Twitter or Facebook profile.

6)

Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

7)

Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

8)

Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

9)

Subscribe to A Blog of Goodies' feed (the sister site to 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

10)

Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.

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(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)

Random Drawing:

This contest will be closed on Monday, September 13th, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!

Giveaway & Review: Two Sisters Gourmet by Partylite [CLOSED]

Normally, when I think of gourmet food items, I think of gift baskets full of ready-to-eat goodies. The furthest I've ventured with "cooking" using gourmet food items is using dipping oils for bread or maybe different types of salsa for cooking chicken. You know me . . . all about easy recipes.

I have to say when I was asked to try out some of the Two Sisters Gourmet recipes through Partylite, I was a little hesitant. Then I took a look at the vast variety of easy recipes that only required a small handful of ingredients each and decided these recipes were right up my alley. Below are the five recipes my family tried. (Click on each title to view the printable recipe.)

Pepperoni Pasta Salad - This recipe was so easy to make and it is versatile. It uses the Garlic Parmesan Vinaigrette, which is delicious. You can choose which fresh veggies you would like to include to customize this pasta salad to your family's taste. Our children are extremely picky eaters and this pasta dish is one of the few things they are excited to have placed in front of them. I also think this dish is something easy and attractive to bring to the next party you attend.

Crispy Italian Herb Chicken Tenders - These chicken tenders were delicious and the recipe only calls for three ingredients! This recipe uses the Italian Herb Cheese Mix. We had purchased more chicken than the recipe called for, so we just added a little bit of Italian bread crumbs and grated Parmesan cheese to increase the quantity of the mix. These chicken tenders were another big hit with my family.

Garlic Parmesan Pasta - This is another super easy 3-ingredient recipe and it uses the Garlic Parmesan Vinaigrette. I really liked the dish the way it was, but my husband said he would have used more than a 1/4 cup of the vinaigrette. Also, we used more cheese than the recipe called for because my family is in love with Parmesan.

Garlic Parmesan Breaded Chicken - Since my family liked the chicken tenders so much, we thought we would try another Two Sisters Gourmet breaded chicken recipe. This one uses the Garlic Parmesan Vinaigrette and the Outrageously Garlic Seasoning Blend. This recipe was not bad, but we much preferred the chicken tenders recipe. It just seemed like the two flavors of the vinaigrette and the seasoning blend did not work well together.

Breathtaking Deep Chocolate Brownie Mix - We did not use a recipe for this product. I was going to try to make the Chocolate Peanut Butter Lava Cake, but realized I did not have the right muffin tin. This mix only yields enough brownie mix to fill an 8" or 9" square pan. I didn't have a square pan, so I used a round cake pan instead. We threw in some butterscotch chips to make our brownies a little different, but I don't think it needed it. This brownie mix calls for butter instead of oil and has chocolate bits already in the mix. The brownies came out great, although I would love to have made a larger quantity in a 13" x 9" pan.

To see all of the Two Sisters Gourmet recipes, visit the TSG Recipe Box on the Partylite website. You can purchase these and other Two Sisters Gourmet products through your Partylite consultant. Visit the Two Sisters Gourmet Quick Dishing blog and Two Sisters Gourmet on Twitter to find more ways to use these products.

Thank you to Partylite for sending us sample Two Sisters Gourmet products free of charge to base this review upon and for providing additional products for our contest prize.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive one Two Sisters Gourmet Breathtaking Deep Chocolate Brownie Mix, a bottle of Garlic Parmesan Vinaigrette, a box of Italian Herb Cheese Mix, and Outrageously Garlic Seasoning.

How to Gain Entries:

Take a look at the easy recipes available for each product in the Two Sisters Gourmet Recipe Box. Then leave a comment telling me the name of a recipe you would like to try. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.

2) For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3) For 10 extra entries, blog about this contest linking back to this post AND TwoSistersGourmet.com . Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments with the link to your blog post.

4) Friend me on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Facebook profile.

5) For 1 extra entry EACH, follow Partylite Gifts on Twitter and/or fan Partylite Gifts on Facebook. Remember to leave a separate comment for each (with the link to your Tweet or your Facebook profile) if you complete both.

6) Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

7) Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

8) Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

9) Subscribe to A Blog of Goodies' feed (the sister site to 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

10) Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.

11) Add my Blogoversary Celebration tag to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.

(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)

Random Drawing:

This contest will be closed on Thursday, March 25th, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!

Bow Ties Are All the Rage

We finally did it! We've found something that all three kids will eat without complaints. It's a bow tie pasta salad that has pepperoni in it. It is so easy to make and is appropriate year-round. Who knew our children would love the shape of bow tie pasta so much? Here we were wasting our time with elbows and penne all these years.

You can find the pasta salad recipe here . . . Pepperoni Pasta Salad. You can use any fresh raw vegetables of your choosing. My husband wanted olives and I wanted sliced mushrooms, but we didn't think the kids would go for either of those. So we went with green and red peppers to make it tasty and colorful.

If you'd like to see more Ruby Tuesday photos, go visit Mary at Work of the Poet!