tomatoes Archives - Pretty Little Apron

Summer is approaching…. and I need to get my salad game in order. 🙂

I mentioned in my last post that I was searching for the perfect “summer pasta salad” dressing, and boy did I ever find it! My Creamy Italian Dressing is just that… creamy, oh-so-delicious, and great for salads and pasta salads. Hello summer BBQ’s, get togethers, and warm weather!

This spinach and tortellini salad is the perfect combination of healthy + yummy. I mean, a big bowl of spinach, who could really argue with that? I love using spinach in salads because it is packed with nutrients. Just one cup of spinach gives a healthy dose of Vitamins A & C, plus calcium and iron. Popeye was really on to something, wasn’t he!?!? 🙂

Now let’s talk tortellini because the question is, does it fit the “unprocessed bill”? I’d say no, not exactly. The pasta is not whole wheat. However I’ve noticed that frozen tortellini is a pretty good convenience item when it comes to ingredient lists so I do occasionally use it in a pinch or when I’m going to an event. We consume 99.9% whole grains so letting go a little is fine with me. Food is all about balance to me and it feels good to let go sometimes.

I separated the dressing from the actual recipe because I realize sometimes ingredient lists can be confusing when you are combining a few things. The dressing recipe will give you the appropriate amount of dressing for the salad. Enjoy!

Creamy Italian Dressing

*This is 1/2 of the original dressing recipe. Full recipe for salad follows.

Ingredients

1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 and 1/4 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried minced garlic
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
3 Tablespoons organic mayo
1 teaspoon white wine (optional)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
pinch of salt
freshly cracked black pepper (to taste)

Instructions

Add all ingredients except oil to food processor. Blend until combined. Slowly add oil while continuing to blend. Store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. ** If you don’t have a food processor, no problem! Just use a large mixing bowl and whisk.

This Old World Spaghetti and Meat Sauce recipe is truly a classic! It combines the best of both worlds, an oil based pasta sauce and a tomato based pasta sauce. This is also a really quick and easy way to make a homemade sauce, without spending hours letting it simmer and cooking down a bunch of vegetables. This is a great “beginner” homemade sauce, so if you haven’t made your own sauce in the past, don’t worry… you’ve got this!

The really unique thing about this sauce is it is actually made in a food processor instead of on the stove. Of course the meat portion of this sauce is cooked on the stove but the sauce itself is just a whole lot of flavor blended together and combined with the cooked beef and onions. After you combine the meat and sauce, just toss in pasta and top with fresh asiago cheese (or parmesan) and that is it! It doesn’t stop there people… this pasta is also amazing cold! I was actually inspired to create this after I created a cold pasta salad using the same flavor combination a few weeks ago. Not only is this a great dinner, you can throw it in your lunch the next day and you have an amazing pasta that would be great over a bed of spinach or by itself.