Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Summer Time Recipes, 2011

Every Summer it is our family tradition to eat layered jello and pasta salads since it is too hot for baking!  The following recipes are our most favorite summer dishes, which we take to BBQ's, picnics, and so forth!
  
Ice Cream Jello 

We have done all the colors of a rainbow.  You may do a 4th of July theme of red layer, cream red layer, blue layer, cream blue layer repeating over and over.  We then put a layer of white whipping cream or Cool Whip layer on the top.  We think doing a cranberry theme with ice cream and sparkling cider would be good for Thanksgiving or Christmas.  It is really an easy recipe, just time consuming, but definitely worth it because it tastes so good!

INGREDIENTS:
Jello boxes (suggestions: strawberry, cherry, cranberry, pineapple, blueberry, grape, mango, peach, apricot, orange, lime, watermelon, raspberry, lemon, strawberry/banana, strawberry/kiwi, tropical punch and so forth)
Water and ice
Gallon of ice cream (vanilla)

DIRECTIONS:
Follow the directions on the Jello box for the first layer (adding hot and cold water).  To speed the process up, we use ice with cold water.  Make sure you measure accurately on what the directions say on the Jello box.

Next is the cream layer.  Instead of measuring cold water we substitute ice cream in its place.  The cream layers usually set up quicker than the normal layers.

Then add another regular Jello layer (hot water, cold water with ice). Carefully ladle the next layers in so that you don't put holes in the previous Jello layers.

Bow Tie Pasta Salad
We have an amazing refreshing summer pasta salad recipe. A couple years ago my brother Nate shared this recipe with me and I altered it to my liking! It is so good!

Ingredients:
1 bag of bow-tie pasta or your favorite pasta shape
1 bottle Italian dressing
1 of each green, yellow, red, and orange peppers, chopped (we used just red this time but it is good with all four peppers)
1 large tomato, chopped
1 large cucumber
1 small pkg. fresh shredded Parmesan cheese
pepperoni sliced in half (amount based on your preference)
Salad Supreme Seasoning (desired amount by taste)

Optional: Instead of pepperoni, you may grill some chicken breasts and cut them into cubes and add a can of small black olives.

Directions:
Boil pasta by following the directions on the package. In a large bowl, combine the chopped vegetables, add Italian dressing, pepperoni slices, cheese, and sprinkle your desired amount of Salad Supreme Seasoning. Mix all ingredients together well. Allow it to chill in the refrigerator for a couple hours before serving. Enjoy!

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