Oriental Salad with Ramen Noodles

This is a delicious, hearty salad I often serve in the summer.

I especially like to take this to potlucks

because I can make most of it ahead

and quickly toss it together before I head to the barbecue.

You can add cubed chicken to make this a summer meal.

Oriental Salad

1 bag of cole slaw

1 bag of broccoli cole slaw (shown below)

1 pkg. Oriental ramen noodles

1 small bag of slivered almonds

cashews or peanuts (optional)

Dressing

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup cider vinegar

2 TBS. soy sauce

Season packet from the Ramen noodles

Preheat oven to 300-degrees.

Line a cookie sheet with foil to save on clean up.

Spread the bag of slivered almonds over the foil.

Break up the uncooked noodles in the

packet of Ramen noodles and spread them

out with the slivered almonds.

Bake noodles and almonds

for about 12 minutes or until golden like this:

If you are making this ahead to serve the

salad later, allow to cool,

then seal in a ziplock bag until ready to toss salad.

While noodles and almonds are baking,

mix up the dressing.

I start by measuring the sugar,

then mixing in the oil so the sugar doesn't stick to

the oil in the measuring cup.

Stir all the ingredients together and

set aside until you're ready to toss salad.

To toss salad, add the cole slaw

and broccoli cole slaw to a large bowl.

Mix the slaws together.

Add the toasted almonds and Ramen noodles

and mix.

Add 1/2 cup cashews or peanuts

if desired.  I think the nuts really add flavor and crunch.

This day, I only had unsalted peanuts, but I prefer cashews

in this salad.

The dressing constantly separates,

so right before you add it to the salad,

stir well.

Then pour it quickly.

The salad will be tastier when marinated

with the dressing for one to two hours before serving.

If you bring this salad to a potluck,

they'll EAT IT UP!

Eggplant Pesto Parmesan with Grilled Rottiserie Chicken

As August comes to a close, many of us are enjoying the harvest from our summer gardens.

My friend Janet gave me this lovely eggplant from her garden.

It's a Saturday night, and I wanted to make an easy, summery meal using the eggplant and the store-bought rotisserie chicken I had in the fridge.

 

My favorite way to cook one of these simple chickens in the summer is on the grill!

Delicious grilled flavor, crispy skin with no hassle, mess or clean-up.

Heat your grill to medium.

Turn the chicken over on the cutting board and using a large knife, cut through the ribs down the middle.

Pull the two sides apart and lay the chicken flat like this:

Place on hot grill, cut side down and shut the grill lid. Now, it's simply baking in a grill oven.

Just leave it while you prepare the eggplant.

Check every so often. If the skin looks crispy, lower the heat

Now make this delectable side dish:

Eggplant Pesto Parmesan

1 lg. eggplant sliced

Pesto (try my recipe for fresh pesto or buy a tub in the produce section by the refrigerator pastas)

Sm. jar of Ragu Spaghetti Sauce (I like extra chunky tomato, garlic and onion)

Shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup olive oil

Kraft Parmesan Cheese (In the green canister)

Start by slicing the eggplant into half inch thick slices.

Brush each slice with olive oil on both sides.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Pour some Kraft Parmesan Cheese onto a plate.

Dredge each oiled slice through the cheese to coat both sides.

 

Heat a large fry pan to med/high. I don't add oil since the eggplant is already coated in olive oil.

Place the cheesy slices in the heated pan and cook until the cheese is golden and crispy.

Cover a large cookie sheet with foil and lightly spray with Pam or use no-stick foil.

Lay out the crispy slices and spread with Pesto.

Now add a spoonful of spaghetti sauce and spread over each slice.

Sprinkle each slice with shredded mozzarella cheese and broil until the cheese is golden and bubbly.

The grilled chicken and Eggplant Pesto Parmesan make a speedy and spectacular

summer supper.

Zucchini Pesto "Noodles" & Garlic Ginger Pork Chops

My friend Beth gave me these four zucchinis from her summer garden.

Instantly, I thought of making Zucchini Noodles that look and taste like real pasta noodles.

(Don't tell the kids they're really eating a vegetable!)

First, mix up my basic pesto recipe.

I turn the zucchini into "noodles" using this scoring tool:

I bought it by mistake in a kitchen store at our outlet mall. I thought it was a regular vegetable scraper, but look close and you'll see those sharp thingies that you scrape along the zucchini.

It scores the veggie into lovely "noodles".

I keep the dark skin because I like the nutrition, but if you want them to look and taste more like real noodles, peel the zucchini first and you'll get noodles that look like this:

(The kiddies would never know they're not eating the real thing!)

If you don't have this scoring tool, simply use your regular vegetable scraper and create noodles like this:

(That's how I made them before I scored the nifty scoring tool.)

Keep scoring until you see the seeds.

I cook my "noodles" in a vegetable steamer:

If you don't have one, simply put a few inches of water in a dutch oven and steam noodles in your metal colander with the dutch oven lid on top like this:

Or you can saute the zucchini in a sauce pan with a little butter or olive oil.

Once heated through...takes only minutes...

add a blob of pesto and stir to coat.

Pesto Zucchini Noodles make a great side dish.

You can also sprinkle them with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

I made them for dinner this week and served them with my friend Debbie's great recipe for

Garlic Ginger Pork Chops

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 TBS minced garlic (I use the kind in a jar for ease)

1 tsp. powdered ginger (You can chop up the fresh stuff for awesome flavor, but I never had time for that)

The longer you marinate, the better the taste. Try marinating overnight.

But, in haste, I have also brushed on the marinade and plopped them on the grill immediately.

Yep, TWO servings of vegetables in this meal!