Whole Wheat Orecchiette Pasta Salad Recipe with Roasted Asparagus, Red Bell Pepper, and Mushrooms

Whole Wheat Orecchiette Pasta Salad with Roasted Asparagus, Red Bell Pepper, and Mushrooms is a perfect salad for Meatless Monday.

Today the temperature in Utah is supposed to get above 90F so we've definitely entered the season for warm-weather eating, and lately I've had pasta salad on my mind.  It seems like there are a lot of ho-hum combinations that give pasta salad a bad name, but I like the challenge of coming up with something that's really good, and I loved the Whole Wheat Spaghetti Salad I made recently.  Then I excitedly discovered Delallo Organic Whole Wheat Orcchiette at the store in my new town, and my mind started spinning with thoughts of making a really drool-worthy vegetarian pasta salad.   This Whole Wheat Pasta Salad with Roasted Asparagus, Red Bell Pepper, and Mushrooms has wonderful flavors from roasting the vegetables, and then I added this fun pasta shape, sliced green onion, chopped parsley, kicked-up Italian dressing and coarsely grated Parmesan to make a truly fantastic salad.  If you can't find the whole wheat Orecchiette I used, just use any smallish whole wheat pasta shape, even macaroni.  And if you're seeing this at a time of year when asparagus is not going to be available or you're not an asparagus fan, I'd just increase the mushrooms and red peppers and you'd still have a delicious salad.  (If you skip the Parmesan and use a vegan dressing, this salad could easily be vegan.)

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Twenty Favorite Healthy Recipe Ideas for a Delicious Mother's Day Brunch

If you're cooking on Mother's Day, here are 20 favorites you might want to put on the menu.

Ever since my Mother died in 1998, Mother's Day has been a bittersweet holiday for me.  Since I had The World's Greatest Mother, the day to remember moms just made me miss her all the more, and I wasn't lucky enough to become a mother myself, so I don't have that to celebrate.  However, I do see myself assuming a lot of "motherly" roles among my family and friends, (and not to forget those 30 years of mothering elementary school kids!)  So maybe my best contribution to the Mother's Day remembrances can be to encourage everyone I know to cherish and nurture your mothers while you still have them.  With that thought in mind, I decided to skip this week and share some deliciously healthy brunch ideas for anyone who might be cooking for Mother's Day this year.  And Happy Mother's Day this Sunday to all the moms who read my blog!

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Whole Wheat Orzo Casserole Recipe with Salmon, Asparagus, and Feta

I tried out this Orzo Salmon Casserole on some family members who stopped by, and it was a hit!

Salmon. Asparagus. Feta.  Maybe that's all I need to say about this recipe, because if you know me at all, you know a recipe with those favorite ingredients is going to be something I'll like.  Add a small amount of 100% Whole Wheat Orzo Pasta, some drained low-fat cottage cheese for creaminess, green onions, dill, and Beau Monde seasoning, and I think you can tell why I absolutely loved this Whole Wheat Orzo Casserole with Salmon, Asparagus and Feta.  This was the second recipe of the two I mentioned that I tried out on my brother Mark, his wife Lisa, and their daughter-in-law Lindy who stopped by a few weeks ago, and they liked this one as much as they did the Chicken, Black Bean, Avocado, and Radish Salad.  Even though it's a casserole, this is something I would serve to guests, and it's also good reheated if you manage to have any leftovers to eat the next day.

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Recipe for Spicy Black Bean Patties with Cilantro, Guacamole, and Tomatoes

These Spicy Black Bean Patties would make a perfect dinner for Meatless Monday!

My love for black beans is well documented, and I've had black bean patties jotted down in my little notebook of blog ideas for quite a while now.  Then recently I was absent-mindedly flipping through the pages of a cookbook I got at a yard saleand saw a recipe that looked interesting.  I loved the addition of chopped cilantro and garlic to the black bean mixture, and the recipe used ingredients that I almost always have in the house.  Of course when Jake and I made these Spicy Black Bean Cakes with Cilantro, Guacamole, and Tomatoes, we changed the original recipe up a little, but these black bean cakes were definitely a winner. 

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Whole Wheat Spaghetti Salad Recipe with Italian Sausage, Tomatoes, Olives, and Basil Vinaigrette

This delicious pasta salad has broken Whole Wheat Spaghetti, Turkey Italian Sausage, Tomatoes, Olives, and a Basil Vinaigrette.

It's a big party day at my house, and this delicious Whole Wheat Spaghetti Salad with Italian Sausage, Tomatoes, Olives, and Basil Vinaigrette is on the menu.   When I tested the recipe with Jake, this salad was so good that after I sent most of the leftovers home with him, I had to make it again a few days later!   Today our family is celebrating graduations and birthdays, and I'm especially excited that my sister Laurel and her family are here from Oklahoma to attend the graduation of my niece Amanda from Snow College.  They'll be coming to the party and then spending the night at my house before they fly back home (and I am so thrilled to have a bigger house where there's room for my family to stay!)  

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Sauteed Chicken Breasts Recipe with Tarragon-Mustard Pan Sauce

This easy and delicious chicken recipe is a good reason to grown French Tarragon in your garden!

(For Phase One Fridays I highlight Phase One recipes from the past that have been my personal favorites, and I was reminded of this lovely chicken dish when a follower on Twitter told me yesterday about how much she had enjoyed it.  If you're not growing French Tarragon, this recipe is a good reason to plant some because this simple dish of sauteed chicken breasts with a sauce featuring Dijon mustard and finely-chopped French tarragon makes a great dinner!)

In 2008 I planted French Tarragon for the first time in my herb garden, and it was the beginning of a huge love affair with the flavor of tarragon. I tried lots of different recipes using fresh tarragon, and loved them all. Now it's herb-planting time again at a new house, and this year I'll be planting some French Tarragon among my flowers and praying that the deer don't like Tarragon! And I'm looking forward to trying even more recipes with tarragon.

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South Beach Diet Phase One Recipes Round-Up for April 2013 (Low-Glycemic Recipes)

My favorite Phase One Recipes from April 2013 were Lentil Taco Salad, Roasted Asparagus with Gremolata, Roasted Garbanzo and Vegetable Salad, and Spicy Broccoli Jicama Salad.

It's May 1, and the gardener inside me is fighting to get out.  Unfortunately my new house has serious gardening challenges (like higher elevation and critters) that will take me at least a year to work out before I'll have a garden that's even close to the garden I'm used to.   I will plant a few things in the small chicken-wire enclosed garden space the previous owners had, and I do have a few herbs growing in my window, but I may have to make more trips to the farmer's market, or even share a CSA share with someone to get my veggie fix this summer.

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