Scrumptious Italian Pasta Salad

Yes I know we've been away from this blog for so long - but not without reason :D Here is a super easy recipe for a yummy dish I assembled up today! :)

Veggies chopped up and waiting

Homemade Italian dressing

Veggies you need:

Capsicum - 1 medium, finely chopped

Red onion - 1 medium, finely chopped

Cherry tomatoes [optional]

Olives 

Garlic [finely chopped or crushed] - 2 cloves

Cucumbers - 2 medium, finely chopped

For the dressing:

1/4th cup olive oil

3 tbsp vinegar

Salt

Mixed dried herbs or Oregano

Method:

Cook the penne pasta until tender and run it under cold water mixing with your fingers to make sure the starch is washed off. If any starch remains, then the pasta is sure to get sticky. 

Combine ingredients for the dressing and set aside. 

Toss the veggies with the pasta and pour dressing over it, coating it fully. Add a dollop of cream cheese or reduced-fat mayonnaise to get a creamy consistency.

The yummiest Pasta Salad ever ! :)

Spaghetti with Kidney beans

I have begun full-time work very recently and need to come up with innovative one-pot meals that totally save me time :-) So guess what I made!! It's a strange combo but trust me when I say that it was finger-lickin delicious ! :-)

Ingredients:

Kidney beans [quantity as per your choice] - soaked overnight and pressure-cooked

Spaghetti - cooked al-dente

Onion - 1, chopped finely

Cook the kidney beans [rajma] as you would, in the normal style using tomatoes, onions and garlic etc. Adjust salt and seasoning as per taste. Add a bit of cream to get the texture nice and smooth.

Cook the spaghetti al dente and set aside

Toss the two together and add grated cheese if you want. I didn't add it though.

Happy Eating !! :)