Cheese Tortellini Pesto Pasta Salad

This is a recipe I stole from my friend Sara. I love taking it to summer BBQ's. It's always a huge hit! (I really love the cheese tortellini and the artichokes). It'd be really good with sundried tomatoes as well, or with summer sausage or salami.

Cheese Tortellini Pesto Pasta Salad

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 or red 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 (you can also use sliced string cheese) 8 ounces (half of a 1 lb. box) rotini pasta, cooked al dente, drained (multicolored pasta looks best!)

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…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.

Two new favorite recipes

Grilled Bruschetta Chicken

This is a yummy recipe that is perfect for summer grilling. It's super easy and it's only 200 calories.










Grilled Bruschetta Chicken
by Kraft Foods

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (If they are thick make sure you pound them with a meat mallet so they are thinner)
1/4 cup KRAFT Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing, divided
1 tomato, finely chopped
1/2 cup KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp. dried basil leaves

PLACE large sheet of heavy-duty foil over half of grill grate; heat grill to medium heat. Meanwhile, place chicken in resealable plastic bag. Add 2 Tbsp. dressing; seal bag. Turn bag over several times to evenly coat chicken with dressing. Refrigerate 10 minutes (I always use more than 2 Tbsp. and I marinate it all day if I remember in time). Remove chicken from bag; discard bag and dressing.
GRILL chicken on uncovered side of grill 6 min. Meanwhile, combine remaining dressing, tomatoes, cheese and basil.
TURN chicken over; place, cooked-side up, on foil on grill. Top with tomato mixture. Close lid. Grill 8 min. or until chicken is done (165ºF).

Spicy Grilled Shrimp Tacos with Pineapple Salsa

Spicy Garlic Shrimp
by Allrecipes.com

1/2 clove garlic
1 to 1 1/2 tsp. coarse salt (if you use regular it will be way too salty)
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (if my kids are eating I add a little less)
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 T. olive oil
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and de-veined

Preheat grill for medium heat. In a small bowl crush garlic with the salt. Mix in cayenne pepper and paprika and then stir in olive oil and lemon juice to make a paste. Toss the shrimp with the sauce until coated. Lightly oil the grill grate. Cook shrimp 2 to 3 minutes per side or until opaque.










Pineapple Salsa

1 pineapple - at least 4 cups diced pineapple pieces.
1 red pepper diced
5 scallions diced thin (or purple onion)
1 large tomato diced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
juice of one lemon
juice of 2 limes
1 jalapeno, diced (take out seeds and core so it's not too hot)
1/4 tsp. minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste.

Mix everything and let the flavors blend for a few minutes in the fridge.

To complete the tacos I use white corn flour tortillas. I sometimes butter them in a pan and then sprinkle cheese on them and melt the cheese in the oven on a cookie sheet just for a couple of minutes (unless we are trying to be super healthy and we skip those steps and just warm them in the microwave). Pile on 2-3 shrimp on the tortilla with some pineapple salsa. We serve ours with black beans on the side. For the kids I make quesadillas with the shrimp, salsa, cheese, and black beans and call it pizza and they will eat it!

Glitter toes

A few weeks ago my mom and I went to a salon in Spanish Fork and got glitter toes done for $15. I didn't know what I would think about it, but I think I'm a fan. They are suppose to last up to a couple of months, which is awesome. We tried to help my dad out when he was taking the picture by holding up our feet and we look like freaks. It looks like I'm holding someone else's leg....kinda creapy looking, huh?

MUCH better!

New favorite...

Anyone played Scotland Yard? It's our new favorite game.

Camelot in Logan

My mom and aunt planned a little girl's night out last night and got tickets to see Camelot in Logan. My sister Janelle ended up going out of town, so we took one of my good friends Christy with us instead. We met up with my aunt Pat & cousin Jaime at the Iron Grill (?) for dinner (which was delish!) and then headed out over to the Ellen Eccles Theater to see the show. It was a really good show. To be honest, I didn't even really know the story. It's a good one, though. (My mom felt like a failure since I didn't know the story, since she said it's always been one of her favorites).

Funny story...Well, before the show people walked in the side entrance and everyone started standing up. Christy leans over to me and says "I ain't standin' for no one until AFTER the show. They have to earn it!" (Thinking it was a cast member people were standing for). Well, it turns out it was President Monson! (And yes, we did stand). We were crying we were laughing so hard. It was really neat to see him there. I guess he has always been a great supporter of the company and Camelot is supposedly one of his favorite shows (one of many favorites, I'm sure). They announced him as a special guest of honor and thanked him for all his support. He waved and smiled at everyone and was really sweet, taking time to talk to everyone around him. He was sitting pretty close to us. I tried to take a picture, but the lighting wasn't great. You can tell that it's him, but it's not a good picture. Oh, well...LOVE that man! Anyway, thanks mom for a fun girl's night out!

My hot mama! (and me with crazy eyes!)

My mom & my aunt Pat

Cousin Jaime, me & Christy

President Thomas S. Monson
Here's a better picture!

Ok, so here's the Sienna update. She was a bit of a late (or lazy) bloomer and started crawling around 10 1/2 months, but since then she has not slowed down a bit. She's even climbing stairs now. I think the days of having an easy baby are over. Church is really not the most enjoyable experience these days. I totally get why people begin to count down the days until their child can go to nursery for at least 2 hours of church! She's definitely in a busy phase, but she is still a lot of fun. She's a noisy little one as well. It's funny she has gone from saying "mamamamamamama" and "dadadadadadada" to complete gibberish. I swear this kid has turned into an ewok. I remember people saying that as soon as you think you have them figured out, they turn on you. That is so true! Sienna used to be so preditable--she woke up around the same time, took naps on schedule, ate everything and anything, was so easily entertained, went to sleep so easily and quickly, etc... In just the past few weeks, everything has changed. She is still adorable, but she is definitely throwing us for a bit of a loop. Some days she wakes up at 6:00 a.m., other days it's 8:30 a.m. She's dropping a nap, so I think her whole sleep schedule has just been thrown off. She's getting more picky with her food, she throws a fit when you put her down...good times, good times! ;) She is also teething. I took her in to see Dr. Knorr thinking that she had a ear infection (and was pulling on her ears) and he said her ears looks great, but that her molars are coming in and the same nerve runs alot the top of your mouth into your ears, so that is why she has been tugging on her ears. So far she still has just the 4 front teeth that have come through. Anyway, that's the scoop. I do these little posts with updates on Sienna more for me that for any of you, so sorry if you don't find them too exciting! ;) I still can't believe my baby turns 1 in just a week! It's amazing how quickly time flies.