Pasta Salad

Packed with veggies and a delicious dressing, this pasta salad is ready for your next barbecue.

Summertime!! The season of outdoor barbecues, impromptu neighbourhood get togethers and reunions.  Always fun and always a ton of fantastic food.  I love an easy throw together dish to contribute to these events and this pasta salad fits the bill.  You can always find an arsenal of pasta of many types in my pantry and this time of year, the fridge is usually full of fresh produce making this salad a favourite of mine.  So it was this particular salad I decided to make last weekend for a cousin get together.

Although the weather was horribly hot, (I bet you could have cooked an egg outside that day) it was great to visit and chat with people that we haven’t seen in years.

Ham and Broccoli Pasta Casserole

An easy casserole using leftover ham with loads of veggies baked in a flavorful alfredo cheese sauce.

Easy casseroles that are quick to put together and use ingredients that are usually in my fridge and pantry are a favorite in our house.

When large bone-in ham goes on sale, we always stock up the freezer with a few to take advantage of the great price.  I think the last time we stocked up, an 8 pound ham was slightly more than $6.00.  After first enjoying a huge dinner of baked ham with all the fixings, I cube up the leftover meat into 2 1/2 to 3 cup portions that go into the freezer for casseroles and soups.

Cauliflower Gratin

Cauliflower baked in a creamy, rich gruyere cheese sauce.

I love this time of year when a stroll through our Saturday morning farmer’s market is on our agenda every weekend.  I try to pick up all our veggies and fruits here before heading off to the grocery store.  There is nothing better than the great flavour from locally grown produce.  The last couple of weeks, I’ve been eating tomatoes that actually taste like a tomato and haven’t tired of just a simple toasted tomato sandwich for lunch almost everyday — but on to the cauliflower.

Molasses Cookies

Chewy molasses cookies with hints of spice and rolled in sugar.  Flavours will remind you of gingerbread.

Last week, the hottest day of the summer, I got a big craving for cookies.  Now the dilemma was – should I even turn on the oven on a sweltering day like this?  But really, when the craving hits, I can make any sacrifice to satisfy that craving!  Which meant, of course, turning on the oven.  These molasses cookies are an all time favorite around our house.  The dough is rolled in sugar to give that pretty crackling when they are baked.  They are soft and chewy, loaded with raisins and lots of flavor punch with cinnamon, cloves and ginger – a  flavor combination that you find in gingerbread.  If you enjoy gingerbread, you will love these cookies – and they are easier to make!!