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Archives for April 2020

Easy Pasta Salad

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At the beginning of the year, I set three food goals for myself. 1)Cook a meal for another family once each month. 2)Buy from my local farmers market at least once per month. 3)Bake a bread recipe of one sort or another each month. Friends, COVID-19 has seriously interrupted these plans! Social distancing, businesses (and the farmers markets) closed, and difficulty finding flour in the stores. I will revisit these goals when I am able to but in the mean time, I have been focusing on simple recipes.

Fancy ingredients and complicated cooking techniques are not prerequisites to a good meal. In fact, some of my favorite dishes are made quickly with just a handful of ingredients. With this in mind, along with my yearning for farmers market produce, I’ve created my easy pasta salad. There is also some versatility in this recipe. You can use whatever small pasta you can get your hands on. Eat it as a side dish, or add your favorite protein to make it your entree. And once you can go to your farmers market again, be sure to show your support and buy your ingredients for this one from your local farmers.

Easy Pasta Salad

Sarah Baade
An easy to make pasta salad that can be used as a side dish or an entree.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Course Dinner, Main Course, Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb small pasta such as orecchiette, shells or elbow noodles
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons (divided) olive oil
  • 15 oz canned chickpeas
  • 12 oz small tomatoes – mixed variety, halved
  • 1 medium cucumber, cut into 1/4" slices then quartered
  • 1/2 small red onion, diced
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Optional: protein such as tofu, grilled bratwurst, or grilled chicken

Instructions
 

  • Cook pasta to al dente according to package directions. Drain pasta then rinse with cold water until cooled.
  • Transfer pasta to a large bowl and stir together with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
  • Add the chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber and red onion then toss to combine.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together remaining 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, Italian herb seasoning and salt. Pour over pasta and gently stir until pasta is evenly coated. Top with protein of choice if desired.
Keyword Easy Pasta Salad, Easy Recipe, Pasta, Pasta Salad

BEST BANANA BREAD

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Our perspectives have changed lately. Wouldn’t you agree? What we need or want most in our day to day isn’t what we were probably focusing on most a few weeks ago. Just this week, I was reassigned from my office to work from home. My husband had already been working from home for a few weeks. We have a lot to be thankful for that both of our jobs are considered “essential” and I truly don’t take that financial blessing lightly. However, just like everyone else, there is still a lot of stress to be had. Backup plans for childcare, how to get groceries, will we find toilet paper before we run out? More than anything, are all of our loved ones okay? It is all so strange but I am thankful to be home and thankful I have a loving family to spend my time with.

As mentioned above, grocery shopping has become an interesting adventure. We have managed curbside pickup at our local grocery store as well as Target. We have also purchased some basic provisions from local restaurants. Still, I was struggling to find flour. This is where my husband’s office comes into play. He works for a large company and their cafeteria services started offering grocery pick up for certain items. Friends, I finally scored a 5lb bag of flour! What will I be baking first with this prize? My best banana bread. I created this recipe a couple of months ago as part of my recent trend of comfort food recipes. If ever there was a time for comfort food, I think this is it! This weekend, I’ll be baking up a loaf of this sweet and easy to make banana bread.

Best Banana Bread

Sarah Baade
Super moist and easy to make. This is my go-to banana bread recipe!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Course Breakfast, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients
  

  • 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup sour cream (can substitute with plain Greek yogurt if desired)
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 very ripe, medium bananas
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup milk

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease or line a 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, beat together butter, sour cream and sugar. Beat in bananas. Mix in eggs and vanilla.
  • Gradually stir in half of the dry ingredients. Add milk and stir to combine. Gradually stir in remaining dry ingredients.
  • Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake 1 hour and 10minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.
Keyword Banana Bread, Easy Recipe, Homemade Banana Bread

If you enjoyed this recipe, you might also like my Pumpkin Bread.