8 Quick and Easy Recipe: Summer Pesto Pasta Salad

Wow, is it Wednesday. Really?! Where did Tuesday go? I got sucked into a time warped blog designing session. Man, when creative juices are flowing who can deny that? Wait, that didn’t quite sound right. Either way, I cannot WAIT until it’s further along, then maybe I’ll feature a sneak peek/have y’all vote on your favorite? Maybe include a freebie for my other Do-It-Yourselfers blog-designing homies?

Anyway, today’s topic is actually about food. I haven’t posted a recipe since the Barbeque Chicken Pizza and figured I’d give ya a summer semi-homemade recipe we just concocted last night!  And today’s recipe, is a perfect summer dinner; not too heavy, and very cold on a hot summer evening.

This recipe sort of goes along the lines of one of my resolutions to waste less food. Pssst, we’re almost half way through the year, and it’s about time to start tackling those resolutions, am-I-right?

Last night we did a bit of grocery shopping and came across the following deals:

• Suddenly Pasta Salad- Special Edition Basil Pesto     $1.00
• Canned Chicken                                                        $1.50 (when you buy two)
• Canned Tomatoes                                                     $0.79

Everything else we had on hand (hence using what we have resolution). We only used half the tomatoes which drops the price to $0.40 bringing our grand total to $2.90 for two meals + a snack (there’s just two of us). That’s amazing since the only restaurant we have in our little town sells a similar dish (2 servings max) for $7.95. Added bonus: the extra ingredients help stretch the serving size AND cost.

Have you tried the Basil Pesto version? It’s AH-mazing! Oh and if you haven’t already horded for the apocalypse stocked up on that basil pesto special edition, better get on it. I bought the place out because it’s hard to find AND it probably isn’t coming back until next summer. My boyfriend probably thought I was crazy throwing half a shelf of the stuff in our cart.

One last thing, we’ve never tried canned chicken and I must say it wasn’t as bad as I thought.

Anyway onto the recipe:

Excuse the brands, use whatever deal you find!

Ingredients:

• 1 Box Suddenly Pasta Salad- Special Edition Basil Pesto
• 3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/3 cup cold water

*Extras

Really anything but the kitchen sink, because who really enjoys the taste of porcelain, maybe someone from My Strange Addiction.

• 1 12.5 oz can chunked chicken breast (substitute 1.5 cooked chicken breasts)
• 1/2  14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (substitute for fresh whenever possible)
• Parmesan
• Cucumber, diced
• Minced Onion (spice)
• Garlic Powder
• Shaker Pepper

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, making sure to rinse with the coldest water you’ve got.

2. While pasta is cooking, mix together pesto, cold water, olive oil, and cucumbers. Refrigerate.

3. Drain chicken, set aside. Half your canned tomatoes and strain them leaving the juiced portion for your next recipe.

4. Mix everything together adding ‘extras’ to your liking.

5. Serve cold. Let sit overnight for better flavor.

*We’re a throw-together kind of  ‘chefs’ and gradually add ingredients until its perfect. We wouldn’t recommend adding any salt because the pasta, chicken and tomatoes are caked in salt for preservation.

Tip: this was the first chance I got to use my new Pampered Chef Batter bowl, color me impressed! Not only was the presentation kinda cute (I love the lines of the bowl, mmk), but the bowl served triple duty as it was also the mixing bowl and held the leftovers. If you love pampered chef and don’t have a consultant, I personally know the best one, just sayin’. **She just informed me there’s an online sidewalk sale July 1-7, 2013 with 100+ retired products 50-80% off. Yep get those products that you really want, or you’ll have to hunt down on ebay later.

The verdict: Let’s just say the beau came in for a goodbye kiss this morning and, instantly, I smelled the pesto aroma- half asleep mind you. Yep pesto for breakfast = success!

-Have you ever gotten so off track that it sucked a whole day out of you? Come-on someone has to have a good video game story out there. The beau and I found out recently that we both shared a passion for the notorious time sucker: The Sims.

-Do you ever stock up on your favorite limited edition/special foods? Watch out March, Shamrock Shakes are totally my jam!-What ingredients would you throw into this recipe?

-How are you doing on your New Year’s Resolutions?

P.S. We were not paid or perked from any of these vendors; we just happily picked up the supplies necessary to make this tasty recipe. And I happen to have amazing friends in some cool businesses who like to hand out deals like when Rob Dyrdek Makes it Rain:

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I'm linked at: Simply Dream and Create, Little Miss Celebration, A Little Claireification, and Cooking with Curls.