I am right-brained person by nature. I like feelings and emotions, colors and shapes, words and music and pretty pictures. I go with my gut, think with my heart, cry at the movies…or an especially touching Hallmark card commercial. Math, logic, reasoning and all that complicated stuff and I just don’t get along. Never have, never will.
My love of food and being in the kitchen totally compliments that part of my personality. I love standing in the store, picking up something that looks especially fresh and delicious that day and just imagining the possibilities. They are endless. It’s such a rush, it’s such a high…it totally fulfills that little part of me that is always longing to be creative. Even if it’s simple. Even if it’s obvious. And even if it’s a flop! It makes me so happy! And best of all, it makes others happy too! 
After spending the last three weeks living out of a dorm-sized mini fridge in Eric’s basement Man Room, our new one finally came on Friday! YAY! Oh man…was I excited. Once it was in place, I gave it a hug. No really…I did. See? Ha ha!
I immediately ran out to the store and stocked up on the all the fresh food I’d been missing out on the last few weeks. I’ve found that I am much more likely to get my daily veggie intake if I make an effort to wash, cut and make something with my produce right away that I can munch on all week long. I almost always prefer the taste and crunch of fresh, raw veggies to any cooked veggie so I am always looking for a way to get my fix.
This simple pasta salad uses a bottled salad dressing. I know that a homemade vinaigrette would be much more impressive BUT….this is real life. And sometimes that just ain’t in the cards. I am not adverse to the semi-homemade way of life….let’s get real. Sometimes you just want to eat. Now. This is an easy and healthy way to curb your hunger. I love it because the whole wheat pasta and nuts keep me feeling full. A small serving of this at lunch time keeps me going until dinner.
ASIAN-INSPIRED MACARONI SALAD WITH CHOPPED CASHEWS (Recipe Source: Me)
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/2 box of whole wheat elbow macaroni
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots (I used pre-shredded matchstick carrots)
- 1 medium red bell pepper diced
- 2 scallions diced (include the greens)
- 1/3 of cup of roasted cashews, chopped
- 1/2 cup of Newman’s Own Low Fat Sesame Ginger salad dressing (this is the best bottled salad dressing in the world, btw.)
DIRECTIONS:
- Cook pasta to al dente, drain and rinse with cold water
- Combine veggies, pasta and nuts in a large bowl. Toss.
- Add salad dressing and toss again, coating all ingredients thoroughly. Chill 1 hour in fridge. Stir one more time before serving.
ENJOY!
1 Comment
July 8, 2009 at 2:44 am
[...] was in the kitchen a lot more. LOL. So ABOUT a year ago OR SO, we feasted on the following: Asian Inspired Macaroni Salad with Chopped Cashews- perfect for summer cookouts! Chicken Enchiladas – this is my FAVE enchilada recipe. The [...]