Pea Salad (Side Dish)

It's been a long week or so of cleaning out the fridge, and the next few times I cook I'll actually be referring back to my own blog to find the recipes I need, so posting will be sparse til next week. However, last night I was able to try a new dish. I found a recipe online then tweaked it to my liking, and the results were very tasty. This only serves 4-6 people, though, so if you make it for a party you may want to double the recipe.

Ingredients:

4 slices thick-cut bacon
1 12oz package frozen peas, thawed and drained
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped scallions/green onions
2/3 cup light sour cream
2 Tbsp light mayonnaise
2 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt

Fry bacon in a large skillet until crispy, then allow to drain and cool on a paper towel. Crumble and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine peas, celery, scallions, eggs, sour cream, mayo, and salt and pepper. Toss to mix well. Can be placed in the refrigerator for awhile until it's time to eat.

Just before serving, add the bacon pieces and mix well. Takes just a few minutes to throw together, but you should add at least 20 minutes to cooking time to account for boiling the eggs and frying the bacon. Very tasty!

German Cucumber Salad

This is my mom's recipe. We used to have this as a side dish with dinner sometimes, or it makes a great lunch or snack. It's pretty easy to make once you figure out what tool to use to slice the cucumber thinly enough.

Ingredients:

2 cucumbers, peeled and then sliced very thin and squeezed dry
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp light sour cream
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Serve. Feeds 4-5 people.

Tuna Noodle Salad

This is kind of a shortened version of this salad that I usually make for lunches, as I didn't have a cucumber or tomato or celery....things I normally put into it. I wasn't even going to blog it, but I figured what the hell. The baby entertained herself watching me, as this only takes about ten minutes to make.

Ingredients:

1 box of either elbow noodles or multi-colored spiral noodles
2 cans chunk light tuna in water, drained
3-4 Tbsp light mayonnaise
1 red and 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp seasoned salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 Tbsp dry parsley or 2 Tbsp fresh
pinch of dried basil

Cook the pasta for 8-9 minutes in boiling water. While that is cooking, combine the other ingredients in a large bowl (preferably one that can be covered easily). When pasta is cooked, drain it and run cold water over it til it's cooled down, then add the pasta to the bowl of other ingredients. Mix all well with a large spoon and refrigerate an hour til all is cold. Eat and enjoy! Feeds 8. Feel free to add other vegetables like I suggested above.

Easy No-Cook Faux Taco Salad

So, after about 4 hours of not napping and screaming whenever I put her down, the baby FINALLY took a nap on my lap while I sat on the couch reading a book. After this stressful day, I didn't want to cook anything fancy or spend very long making dinner, so I made the fastest thing I could just for myself. This recipe serves two, so I can have it again for lunch tomorrow, and give the baby whatever avocado is left over.

Ingredients:

1 can of black beans
1/2 jar (or 1 cup) mild salsa
1 bag of mixed salad greens, or the same amount of chopped dark leaf lettuce
1/4-1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 Tbsp chopped avocado
(I threw in half a chopped cucumber because it was sitting in my fridge and that tasted great with everything else as well)

Drain and rinse out the beans in a colander. Mix them in a small bowl with the salsa.

Fill a salad bowl with the greens (and cucumber if you want it), then top with the bean-salsa mixture. Sprinkle some cheese and avocado on top of that, and you're done. This tastes great, and is really cheap to make.