You didn't mention if your meal would be sitting out for any length of time, but here are some more ideas. Some include mayo, so use your own judgement on whther they will work for you or not. This one will serve 6 people, maybe more, and is easy to double or triple, if necessary. Tequilaberry's Salad Dressing: 1 cup Hellmann's Mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip!) 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup milk 1 pound bacon-cooked until crisp and crumbled (can use real bacon bits) Salad Base: 2 pounds bagged Dole Salad Mix ( I use my own mixed greens) 1/2 head of cauliflower, cut in small pieces 11/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese Mix dressing ingredients until they are the consistency of heavy cream. If needed, add extra milk or sugar to taste. Toss together the Salad ingredients and pour the dressing on. Toss until well coated. This one makes enought ot feed probably 8 people. Again, easily doubled. Caesar Pasta Salad From Cooking Light 3 c. cooked Penne pasta 2 c. chopped Romaine lettuce 1\-1/2 c. halved cherry tomatoes 1/2c. chopped fresh basil 1/2 c. chopped green onion 1/3 c Caesar dressing 1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley 4 oz. crumbled Feta cheese 1 garlic clove, minced 3 c. shredded cooked chicken breast I think it was Ruthanna who posted this one a few years ago. Sorry if I am mistaken. Simple but very good! GEORGIA PEACH POUND CAKE 3 cups flour 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup butter, softened 3 cups granulated sugar 6 eggs (at room temperature) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 1/2 cup sour cream 2 cups chopped, peeled peaches Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. Mix the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time,mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in the sour cream and peaches. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 75 to 85 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert onto wire rack and cool completely. Icing 8 ounces cream cheese, softened 1/4 cup butter, softened 1 tablespoon milk 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 1 (1 pound) box confectioners' sugar, sifted Cream the cream cheese and butter in a mixer bowl until light and fluffy. Add the milk and almond extract and mix well. Add the confectioners sugar gradually, beating until smooth. Frost cake. Store leftover cake covered in refrigerator. CREAMY DUTCH APPLE DESSERT 1/4 c. butter 1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs 1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk) 1 c. (8 oz.) sour cream 1 (3 oz.) cream cheese 1/4 c. Realemon lemon juice 1 can Comstock apple pie filling 1/4 c. chopped walnuts 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 1 1/2 quart shallow baking dish (10 x 6 inch) melt butter in oven. Sprinkle in crumbs; stir well. Press on bottom of dish. In medium bowl, mix together sweetened condensed milk, sour cream and lemon juice and cream cheese. Spread evenly over crumbs. Spoon pie filling evenly over creamy layer. Sprinkle with walnuts that have been mixed with the cinnamon. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until set. May be served warm or cold. Refrigerate leftovers. Variations: Omit cinnamon, substitute blueberry, cherry or peach pie filling for apple pie filling. Linda

You really don't need a recipe for salad--like soup, it's just a combo of what you like (or have on hand). I rarely make salad the same way twice. For tortellin salad, I generally use one package of white cheese tortellini and one of tri-color, add some halved cherry or grape tomatoes, some of the tiny fresh mozzarella balls, diced pepper/onion/celery, sliced black olives; Maybe some broccoli florets and/or grated carrot. Then it gets a splash of Italian Dressing or Balsamic Vinaigrette. Just before serving, I stir in some julienned fresh spinach and some shaved Parmeggiano Reggiano. But you can definitely put together your own favorite vegetables, dressing, pasta, etc. and you won't go wrong.

That is a beautiful pasta sleevendog. I don't tend to use the longer pastas available around here because it's mostly smoother flat or round stuff. Or long round spirals and large chunky stuff. I have to admit I use cheaper pasta.. but it having a texture, tooth, or groves that are easy to get into is important. And messing around with flavors too. We tend to rotate more than you do than do a bunch of different ones at once.. it's just the two of us now so I have to remember to make less.. like we just finished up a 2-4 day run of eating out a batch of chicken bacon ranch pasta salad that overlapped the tail end of some horseradish brussels sprouts slaw.. tonight I'm cooking off little red taters while the kitchen is hot anyway to chill off to make another round of cold salad. I should do a bean salad soon. Something I've noticed about how I make batches of these kinds of salads is that the quantities of stuff kind of remains the same. Like a box/half/1/3 package depending on what kind it is is the "standard" amount of pasta I use depending on how many cans/meats/veggies. And to the thread in general.. does other cold pasta use count as salad? Or other cold service? Sometimes I make cold stuff with big pasta too. Like big tube pastas or shells, leftover lasagna noodles to stuff or roll up with tuna salad, chicken salad, veggie salads of minced tomato, cukes, onion, olives, ect.. and drizzle with the sauce of choice to keep the pasta moist till service. Having your salad in the pasta instead of having your pasta in the salad. I've done this sort of thing for larger party service on occasion. Or when I end up with tail end packages of big pasta for whatever reason and got a few to pack off with the random can of tuna or whatever for a couple lunches.

This is a huge, huge fav of our family - Orzo with Roasted Vegetables 301 Reviews This recipe is a slight variation of a wonderful summer dish invented by Sarah Leah Chase in her book The Open House Cookbook. Level: Easy Total: 1 hr Prep: 20 min Cook: 40 min Yield: 6 servings Share This Recipe Ingredients 1 small eggplant, peeled and 3/4-inch diced 1 red bell pepper, 1-inch diced 1 yellow bell pepper, 1-inch diced 1 red onion, peeled and 1-inch diced 2 garlic cloves, minced 1/3 cup good olive oil 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/2 pound orzo or rice-shaped pasta For the dressing: 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons) 1/3 cup good olive oil 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper To assemble: 4 scallions, minced (white and green parts) 1/4 cup pignolis (pine nuts), toasted 3/4 pound good feta, 1/2-inch diced (not crumbled) 15 fresh basil leaves, cut into julienne Directions Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Toss the eggplant, bell peppers, onion, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, and pepper on a large sheet pan. Roast for 40 minutes, until browned, turning once with a spatula. Meanwhile, cook the orzo in boiling salted water for 7 to 9 minutes, until tender. Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl. Add the roasted vegetables to the pasta, scraping all the liquid and seasonings from the roasting pan into the pasta bowl. For the dressing, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper and pour on the pasta and vegetables. Let cool to room temperature, then add the scallions, pignolis, feta, and basil. Check the seasonings, and serve at room temperature. Copyright 2001 Barefoot Contessa Parties!, All Rights Reserved