I have been craving pasta lately. While doing one of our menus I suddenly realized I’d added three pasta dishes to a five-day span. Carb overload. I adjusted the menu to just one pasta meal, albeit begrudgingly, and left this gem on the menu, and I was not disappointed. It may have had something to do with the giant tub of blue cheese I had purchased to make a tomato salad for a potluck, to top my maple-glazed steak salad and for this pasta.

Orecchiette means “little ear,” which effectively means it’s shaped like a shallow bowl. A shallow bowl that acts as a suction cup to trap the blue cheese and the onions right inside there so that every bite is full of flavor and deliciousness. Start a pot of water boiling for these.


So, you’ll need an onion, make it a big one. Quartered and cut into thin slices.


I’ve had these shallots sitting in my fridge from the garden. If you aren’t looking to spring the extra $ for the shallots, an additional onion will serve you just as well. In this case, because we’re cooking them together, the shallots will sort of melt and disappear into the onions and create almost a creamy sauce that we’ll toss with the pasta.


Melt the butter IN the oil over medium-high heat, and once it’s nice and sizzling, toss in the thinly sliced onions and shallots. Keep it going, and come back to it every once in a while while we’re doing the rest of this. They’ll need a while to brown.


Pour yourself a glass of wine to sip while you cook and your kids do their homework at the table. Ole chose Sebastiani’s Secolo that we bought on a trip to California. He gets liberal when uncorking wines in the fall because he knows that we’re set to return soon. (Side note: When did Kumquat get such long hair? And where was I?)


In a separate pan, heat a tablespoon of oil and add a bunch of salted and peppered chicken. Then toss in a bit of rosemary. Keep cooking it until it browns on both sides. Right at the end, add a bit of garlic for good measure. What would pasta be without garlic?


Chop your chicken into bite-sized pieces, perfect for stabbing with a forkful of pasta. We used tenderloin strips, which meant slicing resulted in the appropriate size, but breasts would have worked just as well.


Don’t forget to stir your onions through this whole process. Just let them continue cooking and cooking until they get to a lovely brown color.


When your pasta is done, drain and add to the onions. After stirring them together, we added a scoop back to the chicken pan and gave it a swirl to collect the leftover juices and then tossed it back in with the rest. Add a heaping of blue cheese and your chicken and stir.


Finally, because I’m a sucker for cream sauces, add a bit of cream to stir in and hold it all together.


I may have tasted it before I served anyone. May have.


We ended up with about 3 lunch-sized servings left after everyone had had their fill, and it reheated wonderfully. In fact, I dare say I enjoyed it more for lunch on Day 2 during nap time. I love the quiet that nap time brings.

While this lemon chicken pasta salad could function as a side dish or a potluck item, we eat it on top of a bed of organic spring mix greens as a meal. It’s fantastic paired with garlic bread or pesto cheese bread as well or even just a few raw vegetables for dipping. It’s easy to make ahead, and it stores well in the fridge. As with any creamy pasta salad, it absorbs the moisture the longer it sits. If this bothers you, simple stir in a tablespoon of milk or two tablespoons of ranch dressing for every three or so cups of salad to restore the creamier texture.

This recipe was requested by Adrianne when she saw it on our weekly menu. I can’t blame her. Lemon, chicken, pasta. I’d be intrigued too. While I wasn’t planning on posting it originally, I decided it was a fantastic time to share a new upgrade to the site. We started making the recipe card at the bottom of the post printable!

Click the lemon chicken pasta salad recipe cardto see what it will look like printed out for your recipe box, folder or whatever you store recipes in. If you subscribe, you may have already seen them as a few of them accidentally came through over the weekend while we were setting them up. We are really excited to offer this feature, and we hope you find the printable view useful!

Our initial reason for gardening, before we even owned our own home, was to make pesto. We had always enjoyed pesto, and at the time with Ole in graduate school, buying the often expensive jar of it at the supermarket wasn’t something we were willing to do. And the “pesto pot” was born. The pesto pot is nothing more than a pot planted with Genovese basil and flat-leaf parsley. If you don’t have basil and parsley already growing in your garden, fear not. Parsley is cheap and easy to come by fresh. Basil is also available fresh in the grocery store; however, it may cost you a bit more. Try checking out your local farmer’s market. We have a vendor at ours that sells 2 cups of packed basil for $2.00, quite the bargain price.

The other thing that drives up the price of pesto are the pine nuts. We buy ours at Trader Joe’s or from a co-op; both are the cheapest prices we’ve been able to find. If you can’t find reasonably priced pine nuts, try substituting walnuts.


I pack my leaves on the bottom of the food processor or blender and top it off with all the heavier ingredients (hold the olive oil for now). This helps to weigh down the leaves and feed them towards the blade.


After a good mix and chop, I add half of the olive oil and blend again. The last half of the olive oil won’t be added until I’m ready to use each individual serving of pesto, and sometimes not at all.


Because we went light on the olive oil, this pesto is easy to work with. It doesn’t pour well into containers, but it will scoop onto sheets of plastic wrap or into tightly-sealed containers. If using a container, make sure you fill to the top to avoid freezer burn. For the plastic wrap, just pull the corners together and twist. Fold the end under the pesto ball and you’re done.


Into the freezer bag and into the freezer for these. When I am ready to use, I remove from the freezer an hour or two before and thaw in a bowl on the counter. Just before serving, I stir in the extra olive oil I left out, reviving the pesto and making it instantly easy to work with and use.


What to do with the pesto? Try mixing it into a pasta.


Or make pesto cheese bread for a twist on traditional garlic cheese bread.


You could also mix with a bit of butter, spread on salmon and bake in the oven. Mix it into steamed vegetables or even top a steak with it. Whatever you do, enjoy it. And because you froze it, you can enjoy a bit of summer freshness in the dead of winter on those really, really cold days when the sky is gray.

It’s here. The last week of the summer is in full swing, and I am over my head in work and events and activities and last-minute to-do lists that just may very well not get done. Throw in a couple phone calls about the school book fair (remind me again why I am the chairperson for that) and three open houses for the kids, I’m starting to feel like summer is already gone. Still, determined to stretch those warm summer nights and days as long as possible, this pasta’s fresh taste will make you think you’re in the midst of it rather than running at a full on sprint towards brisk breezes and fall-colored leaves.

I realize that I’ve been using a lot of capers recently. Both here and here. This also features capers. Let’s say, however, that you are opposed to the little dots of salty joy. For both this recipes and the ones previous, consider them optional. No need to pick them out of anything if you don’t like them, and surely no need for you to forgo entire culinary experiences just because it includes something like capers. That’s the beauty of cooking, the ability to cook what you want how you want. (Don’t ask me where the wine was in this picture. In the fridge so I could drink it with the meal perhaps.)


Raw shrimp is essential here. The precooked stuff just isn’t the same, and because it’s precooked, I feel that even the lightest bit of heating tends to overcook them into something tough and rubbery, and that is definitely not what we’re looking for.


Before you do anything else, start your pasta going. I like to add a teaspoon or two of olive oil and a 1/2 teaspoon of salt to my water. The pasta absorbs some of the salt while it cooks, but not enough to make it salty, just to bring the flavor up a little, and the olive oil helps prevent stickage to both pot and other pasta strands.


To prepare your scallops, start by pulling this tiny little muscle off the side. Just give them a once over, and you should be able to find it stuck there. A little tug should be all it needs to separate itself.


Be sure to use enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan and heat until it starts to crackle if hit with a drop of water over medium-high heat.


While your oil is heating, sprinkle your scallops lightly and evenly with salt and pepper. Add your scallops to the hot oil and sear 2 to 3 minutes per side until they get this nice crust on them.


When the scallops are done, remove them to a warm plate covered in foil (because it holds the heat better) and set aside while you prepare the sauce. Over medium-high heat, add your chopped garlic and capers (if you so choose to use) to the pan and cook for 30 seconds. Next, deglaze the pan by adding the wine and lemon juice.


When the liquid starts to reduce (read = there is less of it), add your mushrooms and shrimp, cooking shrimp just until they are pink on both sides, which ends up as about a minute per side. Add your cream and continue to stir until it thickens. How will you know it’s thick? It will start coating your spoon and holding together around the mushrooms and the shrimp rather than slipping off the sides.


I like to turn the heat off and introduce the pasta to the sauce rather than the other way around. In serving-sized bunches, I run the noodles through the sauce, pull and allow excess sauce to drip off and place them on the plate. Then I top with a few more pieces of shrimp and mushrooms from the sauce. Most people have a tendency to overindulge in their pasta sauce, drowning the noodles. This way it is easier to toss lightly in the sauce in large batches.


Topped off with a sprinkle of parsley and a seared scallop or two, it is the perfect way to be forgetful and pretend the days of summer really are endless.

If you saw Ole’s Greek burger post, you may have been left wondering what kind of summer salad you’d pair that with. (I know you were.) It’s not like a regular, ol’ creamy coleslaw would do the trick there. And something about putting tzatziki sauce on your burger doesn’t scream potato salad. It screams pasta salad, naturally. THIS pasta salad. Or something.

I was thinking the other day that this would have really looked nice with halved cherry tomatoes and, while sweeter, they would have complimented the salty feta. Feel free to substitute. I, however, did not substitute because, well, I had tomatoes in the fridge, and I’m all about using what I have, even when it’s a salad that’s coming to two 4th of July picnics. I hope you don’t mind.


I decided that teeny, tiny orzo pasta was definitely a must here. Why, you ask? Contrast to the chunky vegetables. Living life on the edge. Adventure. Because I wanted to.


After cooking your pasta, give it a good rinse with cold water, place it in a container and stick it in the fridge to cool down while you get everything else ready.


Now, you may ask yourself why thinly slice the peppers and the onions instead of dicing them like everything else? (At least Ole did.) Again, contrast.


And some of my favorite cheese. Did you know that most varieties of feta sold in the U.S. are actually made from cow’s milk and not sheep’s milk? It’s true. Oh so very true.


Add the kalamata olives in there too. See all that contrast? Pretty, isn’t it? Totally worth it.


For the dressing we’re looking at equal parts extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar. Glug, glug, glug.


Joining the party will be oregano, basil, salt and pepper. I decided on dry herbs here for the even distribution in the dressing, but you could use fresh, just double the amount.


Now, your pasta should be close to cool by now. Mix it in with your vegetables.


Add your dressing and give it a stir.


And enjoy with your Greek burgers, your cheese-filled burgers, a hot dog, with a piece of grilled chicken, on its own, on a fork – or a spoon – in your mouth.

For more fresh tomato recipes, visit Tammy’s Recipe’s In-Season Recipe Swap.

I first made this dish several years ago for a ladies’ night I was hosting at my house. Instantly a hit, I knew I’d be adding it to my list of favorite easy meals. Adding (or not adding) the meat at the very end makes it vegetarian friendly. There is a lot of dumping from jars and cans into a pan involved and not a lot of cutting and chopping. The fresh basil makes it perfect for summer and summer it is, as evidenced by the heatwave we’ve been experiencing here in the Midwest. Let’s get started.

Here are the required jars and cans and bags and boxes. You know what else would be good? Capers. I left them out for some reason…oh, because I wanted them for something else. Hopefully that something else is as worthy as this pasta.


Of course, we’re going to have to boil the noodles beforehand. When my mom was cooking, I used to steal the uncooked spaghetti before the water boiled and crunch away. Sometimes I would challenge my sister to a noodle duel. The pasta swords splintered and shattered wonderfully, and the cleanup was as easy as brushing them under the stove. Evidence of pasta-drawn combat erased.


Moving on. Garlic and sun-dried tomatoes go into the pan first with a little olive oil. If you have a jar of sun-dried tomatoes floating in olive oil, just drain some off the top and dump them in, omitting the extra oil. I opted for a bag of julienned sun-drieds today because I usually have one around to top off salads. (Wonderful with avocado on spring mix greens with balsamic vinaigrette.)


Then we start with the dumping. First dump some of these in.


Then pluck the basil leaves off the plant and dump those into your pan as well. Let it cook a few minutes.


Stir it around until the basil starts to wilt. You’re looking at two minutes here. Just enough time for you to start daydreaming about actually visiting Europe and Italy, Greece, Crete, anywhere near that blue sea.


Cream makes everything better. No lie. Coffee, oatmeal, mac and cheese, cheesecake, pickles. Okay, maybe not everything, but most things. If you are afraid of the cream, substitute milk, but drop the quantity down. Milk is runnier than cream.


Season with your spices, stir, and that’s it. We’re ready for the pasta.


Then stir it all together with your al dente noodles that have been patiently waiting all of 3 minutes.


If you’re the carnivorous type, grilled chicken with salt and pepper, maybe a spice blend if you have one. Nothing fancy, just straight up and quick. Don’t like chicken? Shrimp may be in order.


This obviously calls for a glass (or two) of wine. This came from a closeout sale when one of the neighborhood liquor stores decided not to renew their liquor license. We now have to drive to their other location, four miles away.


Croissant rolls optional.

Adapted from Tyler Florence

The O6 have been hooked on these little sweet peppers that showed up at Costco a year or so ago.  They are a little bigger than a jalapeno and usually colored yellow, orange and red.  They don’t have too many seeds and they are so sweet that I usually have to throw the kids out of the kitchen when I’m cooking with them because they’ll just hop next to me and beg (especially Kumquat). 

Since we started buying them (for less than $4 per three-pound bag) they have become a cornerstone of our salads and sandwiches and anything else that you would use a green pepper for.  They taste great and they add some vibrant colors to the plate at the same time.

I have made this dish a few times before and I always wish that I had made more because it’s just as good as leftovers as it is the first time and it’s so easy.  Last weekend while picking up my bag of peppers, I found a giant (six pound) bag of sweet Italian sausage over at the meat department for $13.  I couldn’t say no, so we put sausage and peppers on the menu.

This is so basic because the main ingredients speak for themselves, you really don’t need to add many spices.  So, getting started.  Turn on the grill to high, you’re going to want a hot grill for this one, and set out the following:

Italian sausage links (3 lbs) or as much as you need for your situation

Sweet peppers – I used the whole bag but your mileage may vary

Green bell pepper

½ yellow onion

Black pepper

Olive oil

Foil pan

While the grill is heating up wash the peppers and cut the tops off, I clean out the seeds too, but you wouldn’t have to, and cut them in half the long way.  Slice the onion like a pie to make pedal shaped pieces.  Cut up the green pepper into bite sized pieces.

By this time the grill should be hot – around 400 – 500 degrees.  Scrape it down and add your sausages.  Turn the grill down to medium-high.  Back inside place all your peppers and onions into the foil pan, coat them with a tablespoon or two of olive oil and add some fresh black pepper to the party.  I love crushed red pepper and would suggest adding it here if you’re into that.  If not, skip it.  Right now I just put it on the table because it’s not really nice to the little ones to hide spicy little landmines in their food.  I’ll wait until they’re a little older before I sneak in the high heat.  You might notice that there is no salt on the list.  I find that the sausage is usually plenty salty, so you don’t really need any more (although I did add a pinch this time).

Time to introduce the peppers to the fire.  Clear off one side of the grill and set the pan right on the grate.  Turn this side up a little higher (if you have that capability).  We are looking for some caramelizing of the sugars and even some char – yes char – I know we talked about this during our bacon wrapped tenderloin – char is bad, right?  Sometimes, but controlled char can be your friend, and this time char will be your BFF.

Your sausages should be hissing and causing some flare ups, that’s ok.  Let it burn we actually want some blackening of the sausages too.  Once they develop a dark brown, flip them and close the lid.

Resist the urge to stir your peppers too much, we want to develop dark spots on everything, so let it go with the lid closed, stirring every six or seven minutes, you will be able to smell when it’s time to stir, I can’t really describe it for you, but I believe in you and your nose.  Take this time to pour some wine.  I was enjoying a Shiraz Cabernet from Black Opal, it turned out to work quite well with the meal.

While all this is cooking, let’s take some time to talk about the supporting cast for this meal.  There are many ways to go.  We happened to have a bag of frozen spinach ravioli that we prepared with some diced tomatoes and olive oil and topped with parmesan cheese.  But any pasta and red sauce combination will do, nothing has to be fancy because the peppers and sausage will definitely be the stars.  Last time we had this with Shaina’s stuffed manicotti.  To round things off we warmed up a loaf of multi grain bread and put together a garden salad with cucumbers and carrots.  The whole meal went together in 45 minutes (that’s quick for me).

So what’s left?  Give the peppers a stir and remove the sausages when they’re thoroughly browned/blacked.  Close the lid and let the peppers finish up.  Take the sausages back to the kitchen and slice them into bite sized pieces.  Now you could leave this step up to the individuals by serving the sausages whole, but I like this presentation and it allows for people to control their portion size a little more.

Time to get the peppers.  Turn off the grill and bring them in, use care because the bottom of your pan will be messy (worse than the bottom of the cedar plank we used for the salmon).  I used a paper towel to provide a barrier between the hot pad and the pan bottom – you’re smart, I’m sure you can figure something out.  Add the sausage pieces to the peppers and mix well. 

All that’s left is plating.  I would recommend building a pile of food starting with your pasta, then sauce, then the sausage and pepper blend.  Add a salad and some bread, top off your wine and enjoy.  This is one pasta meal that won’t have you searching for a Klondike Bar at 9:00.