We’ve all been there. The potluck is tonight and you forgot. It starts in about an hour and here you are without a dish to pass. What on earth can you throw together in that short of time?
You have three options: 1) Don’t go, and miss out on a really fun time. 2) Show up empty-handed and explain red-faced that you forgot. 3) Grab a casserole dish, head to the deli and pass something off as Grandma’s secret recipe.
You don’t really have to resort to any of these options if you keep a few simple ingredients on hand; pasta and salad dressing. The rest of the salad depends on your imagination, and what you have in the kitchen. Let’s start by looking at the two main ingredients.
Standard pastas like penne, shell, rotini, and even macaroni noodles will make a fine pasta salad once you add your personal touch. If you have a lot of partially full boxes of different pastas, just mix them together. Be sure to cook similarly sized pastas together. If you’re cooking penne with angel hair pasta, you’ll run into trouble because the cooking time is different. You would want to cook these types of pasta in separate pots.
When it comes to the dressing, you’ll do fine if you use any of the standard salad dressings like Italian and Ranch style. Keep a few varieties in the pantry at all times and you’ll be prepared for just about any food emergency. Of course, if you’re ambitious, it’s not difficult to whip up your own homemade dressing using ingredients like olive oil, Dijon mustard, honey, balsamic vinegar, or whatever you like.
Now that you’ve picked out your pasta and dressing, you need to cook your pasta. Just cook according to the instructions on the package and drain well. Before the pasta cools down, dump it into a large bowl and pour your dressing over and toss gently. You want to add the dressing while the pasta is warm so the flavors intensify and stick to the pasta. Don’t drown your pasta in dressing. Add, taste, add, taste, etc. You may even add more after the other ingredients are added.
It’s time for your creative cooking to take over. Take a peek in your cupboards and refrigerator and start pulling out food that looks good to you. If you have any cheese, tomatoes, frozen peas, chickpeas, olives, onion, or even artichokes in a jar, throw it in. Give it a taste, and keep adding until you’re satisfied. Don’t forget the sunflower seeds in the back of the fridge and those croutons, too.
Add leftover chicken or open a can of tuna if you like. The trick is to taste as you go. Just take a little pasta and dressing mixture out of the big bowl and put it into a little bowl. Add your ingredients, a little at a time, and taste as you go. Once you’re satisfied put it all together in the big serving bowl, slip on a cover, and you are good to go!
Forgotten about a potluck tonight? No problem! All it takes is a few simple ingredients and a little imagination and you’ll have a delicious pasta salad ready to save the day!
Would you rather spend time doing the things you love instead of being stuck in the kitchen? If so, you won’t want to miss FreeQuickRecipes.com where youll find free online cookbooks for mothers and others.
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