Cheese Tortellini Pasta Salad

I have made this a few times for showers or family parties and it is always a hit. I found the recipe on www.food.com

1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained, quartered
1 (10 ounce) cont. grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1 (6 ounce) can medium black olives, drained, sliced in half lengthwise
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 (20 ounce) package cheese-filled egg tortellini, cooked al dente, drained (fresh or frozen)
1/3 cup olive oil, more if needed
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, the kind in the can
1 (8 ounce) jar basil pesto
1/2 teaspoon salt, more if needed
2 teaspoons minced garlic
12 ounces mozzarella cheese, cubed
8 ounces half of a 1 lb. box rotini pasta, cooked al dente, drained

Directions:
Cook pastas, set aside to drain and cool a bit.
In large bowl or punch bowl, add rest of ingredients, folding gently til well mixed.
Gently fold in pastas well.
Adjust seasoning to taste, meaning, add more salt, parmesan, etc., til you like it.
Serve immediately, or refrigerate.
*If you make this say a day ahead of time, you'll need to "refresh" this. Just add a bit more olive oil, salt and parmesan before serving. This salad is best, though, room temp, or even slightly warm.

Creamy Tomatillo Salad Dressing

So, after searching the internet and other various sources and then trying multiple so called "copy cat" recipes for Cafe Rio's Creamy Tomatillo Salad Dressing, this is the recipe I've pieced together and it seems to be pretty dang close to the real deal. Hopefully you will find that you like it as well as we do. Enjoy!


Creamy Tomatillo Salad Dressing


1 packet Hidden Valley buttermilk salad dressing mix (it is very important to get the package that directs you to use 1 cup mayo and 1 cup buttermilk and that you get the buttermilk flavor instead of the original flavor of dressing mix)*
1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup buttermilk

2 tomatillos
1 jalapeno pepper

1/2 bunch cilantro

1 clove garlic

1 lime

salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Remove tomatillos from husks and wash.  Cut tomatillos in half, sprinkle with salt to taste and roast in oven for 20 minutes.  Remove stem from jalapeno and rough chop (seeds and all but if you like it less spicy you can remove the seeds and the inner membranes from the pepper).  Add roasted tomatillos, jalapeno, cilantro, juice of lime and garlic to food processor.  Pulse until a semi-smooth liquid is formed.  Add packet of dressing mix, mayo and buttermilk.  Blend until mixed well.  Refrigerate until used.

*  If you do happen to use the packet of dressing mix that indicates using 2 cups of mayo and 2 cups of buttermilk then just double the rest of the ingredients.  WOW, that will make a ton of salad dressing though!  Be forewarned!

Asian style Ramen Broccoli Slaw

Salad
2 packages broccoli coleslaw mix (or use 1/2 medium green cabbage, shredded)
4 green onions

Crunchies
2 package ramen noodles, slightly crushed - don't use seasoning packets
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup slivered almonds
3 Tbsp sesame seeds
6 Tbsp butter or margarine
salt and pepper to taste

Dressing
1 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
6 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
4 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp soy sauce

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add crunchy ingredients and stir frequently until brown.
Combine broccoli slaw with green onions.
Whisk together sesame oil, vegetable oil, rice wine vinegar, salt and soy sauce.
Mix with salad ingredients. Chill. Add crunchies just before serving.