Lindsay's Bruschetta Pasta Salad

The following recipe comes per my friend Lindsay and for the record it IS as delicious as it sounds.

I think the best part about this recipe is that it's simple. And not just simple in that it's easy to make but simple also due to the lack of ingredients. Color me crazy but recipes that I tend to lean toward generally have fewer ingredients.

And if you're wondering...yes I AM one of those nit-picky people. There are a lot of things I do not like for example: onions, olives, mushrooms, ANY seafood, MOST cooked veggies. If that makes me picky...then fine so be it. However, I've lived my whole life eating plenty of really delicious food that does not include any of the aforementioned foods. So recipes that have simple ingredients are what attract me most and THIS is one of them. Five ingredients, people...five.

Ingredients:

1 Box/lb of tri color rotini
1 1/4 cup of diced tomatoes
3/4 cup of shredded fat free mozzarella
2-4 finely chopped fresh basil leaves
Roughly 7oz of Balsamic Vinaigrette (to taste)

And that is IT. I'd like to make two notes.

1. You CAN used diced fresh mozzarella as well however Lindsay likes the continuity of the shredded. Plus lezbehonest it makes for a much easier and faster prep.
2. When Lindsay was texting me the recipe her phone autocorrected "tomatoes" to "panties". And for me that too is worth noting.


Prep:

Cook the rotini until tender (or al dente as I prefer it), throw in a bowl and mix with remaining ingredients.

It's THAT easy. And for the record, pretty damn healthy too.

If you try it, maybe for your fourth of July parties (hint, hint) be sure to let us know what you think!

Garlic Parmesan Roasted Potatoes

Aren't you glad you waited for this? Trust me...you are. These little pieces of heaven are worth a try. And SO simple. If I can do it...ANYBODY can. De-freaking-licious. So what you will need:

3-4 medium red potatoes, cut into small wedges
3 TBS olive oil
1/3 C parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp paprika
sea salt to taste



Now this is the recipe as listed at http://imperrfections.wordpress.com/2010/05/07/parmesan-roasted-potatoes/
It may be my taste but I do NOT need to add salt...between the garlic salt and how salty parmesan is, it was totally unnecessary for me. Also, it says that this serves 2-3...not true. These are way too delicious to only serve 2-3 people meaning I always make more than the recommended serving. SO here's how we make these life-altering, mind numbing, yummy pieces of awesome.

Wash those bad boys up. They grew in the ground...and never got washed. So unless you like dirt on your potatoes, give those babies a bath.

And Here are your ingredients.

Cut your potatoes like so

They'll look like this once chopped. Then put your chopped potatoes in a bowl with the olive oil and mix.

Mix together your dry ingredients and dump that shit on the potatoes and toss and mix it all together. This is when the magic starts to happen. These ingredients smell like heaven on freakin earth.

Throw them on a baking sheet and in the oven at 425. Make sure they are in a single layer. Put them in for 25 mins then turn them over (which I am still working on exactly how to make them not stick) for another 10 and then prepare your tastebuds for THIS awesomeness:

Once I can figure out how the hell to make them not stick it'll be perfect. But these pictures do ZERO justice to how they taste. OH MY LANTA. They are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside and the flavor is just out of this world. If you do not try them...I PROMISE you will regret it and it will haunt you for all of eternity. Go ahead, you know you wanna try em ;) And when you do let me know what you think!