Just another Day in the Life on the Farm

You know what happened extraordinary today?  Nothing.  It was just a typical, normal day in the Klik household.  Well, maybe on typical...our typical days usually have something extraordinary happening LOL.

I got up, straightened the house, threw some laundry in and headed out to run some errands.  Went to the library, stopped in to see Mom (she has lost her glasses again) and then met Amy for lunch.  On the way home I stopped at Kohls and got some new shoes, kitchen towels and dish cloths.  Went over to Dress Barn because I had $15 in coupons that were going to expire.  I didn't see anything perfect for me but I found the perfect Christmas gift for my sister in law.  When I stepped out of Dress Barn it was storming, not raining, but a full fledged, wind blowing, downpour raining, thunder and lightning storm.  So I ran into Bed, Bath and Beyond next door and browsed around until the storm let up.  I ended up with some kitchen twine, a silicone basting brush and some cheesecloth.  Pretty exciting huh?

Frank and I got home at the same time.  He had a work meeting to prepare for that he is at now that dinner is over and I started putting together dinner.  I thought about calling this dish Clean Out the Refrigerator Pasta Salad but didn't think that sounded very appetizing so I named it Kitchen Sink Pasta Salad because everything is in it except the kitchen sink.

I went into the depths of my fridge and came out with a zucchini, summer squash, peas yet to be shelled, a cucumber, some baby carrots, half of a red pepper and a half bottle of Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette from Out of the Weeds.  Perfect!!

I put some water on to boil and shelled the peas as I waited.  I also cut the rest of the veggies into bite size pieces and tossed them into a bowl.  When the water was boiling I threw in the peas and the pasta and cooked them per package directions for 9 minutes.  Drained them, doused em with cold water, drained em again and threw them in the bowl with the veggies.  Poured in the vinaigrette, added some salt and pepper and tossed to coat.  I then set it aside to let the flavors meld while we (Frank was all prepared for his meeting by this time) prepared some BBQ chicken leg quarters and farm fresh corn on the cob.

Dinner was delicious, I am having a second glass of Chardonnay and Frank is gone wowing them at the meeting.  It's a Good Life Here on the Farm.

This is a great recipe for those days when you are cleaning out the produce bins in your refrigerator.

Kitchen Sink Pasta Salad

3 c. assorted veggies (I used peas, zucchini, summer squash, carrots, red bell pepper and cucumber)

1/2 lb pasta of your choice ( I used Rotini)

1/2 bottle of your favorite vinaigrette or salad dressing ( I used Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette)

salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package instructions, if you have any veggies that need to be cooked and blanched (peas, broccoli, cauliflower, etc) throw them in with the pasta.  When the pasta and vegetables are done, drain in a colander and run under cold water to stop cooking.  Drain and rinse with cold water until all ingredients are cooled. 

While the pasta and veggies are cooking, prepare all other veggies by peeling, coring and seeding as needed and cutting them into bite size dice.  Place in a large bowl.

Add the cooled drained pasta and veggies to those already in the bowl.   Pour dressing over all and toss.  Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.  

Allow to sit for an hour or two at room temperature if using a vinaigrette or in the refrigerator if using a cream based dressing.  Print Recipe