Sometimes, when I wanna appeal to my Stepford side and when I have to make a quick dish for a lot of people that I don't particularly care about like say, a potluck at work, I find it easiest to go Semi-Homemade. You know, kinda like what that broad does on the Food Network--get a bunch of packaged crap from the grocery store and turn it into more crap. Only my pasta salad, though it is made just with a bunch of packaged crap from the store, doesn't taste like crap, it actually tastes pretty good. And I didn't do it with a bunch of heavy eyeliner or in a kitchen full of appliances and accessories that somehow all have the same holiday theme or color scheme. Don't know what I'm talking about? Then check out the show on the Food Network.
And so without further ado, I'd like to share my "recipe" for my Semi-Homemade Potluck Pasta Salad...
Ingredients:
*1 box of rainbow rotelli pasta, cooked al dente and drained (Don't ask me what size the box is. You know, it's the box. They're all the same)
*1/2 cup mayo (or more if you see fit)
*1/2 of a 24 oz. bottle of Bernsteins Restaurant Recipe Italian dressing (or substitute your favorite kind)
*1/2 of an 8 oz. bottle of parmesan cheese (yes, that dried powdered stuff)
*The just slightly cooked florets off one broccoli crown
*3 medium tomatoes, diced
*1 small jar of marinated artichoke hearts, drained
*1 2.25 oz. can of sliced black olives
*Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
*Mix everything together and refrigerate. That's it.
It's kinda ghetto, I know, but I have to admit, it tastes better than alot of the pasta salads I've had elsewhere. The secret? The mayo and the powdered cheese.
Who woulda known it was Semi-Homemade?
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5 comments:
Mmm...mayo and cheese always make things good! Semi-homemade? Humph~it's homemade to me! And sounds delicious too! Too bad I don't have cable at my house...gotta get my food network fixes at my boyfriend's. Lucky for me, he's a foodie too! ;)
pam
cool recipe
but if you really want to impress me next time prepare this on the hood of your car :)
ok pam. i have a huge problem with sandra lee. her whole semi-made concept would piss off rachael ray and her $40 a day budget. buying pre-made/pre-packaged stuff gets EXPENSIVE. and yes, i remember, you and i are both cantonese, and $40 a day is insane. haha.
anyway, i'm with you on bringing the i-don't-care-for-you-that-much-so-i'm-going-to-make -you-a-quickandeasy-how-do-you-like-that meal. my favorite thing is to make pasta salad. get any vegetable like onion, tomatoes, mushrooms and drench it with italian dressing in a bottle. instant gratification for your guests and your wallet.
well done pam. hong kong bows in your presence. haha.
oh yeah kristy, your bf is only a foodie b/c you are. i am very impressed that you did 4 rounds of bbq with us. are you ready for this sunday???
Mealtcentric - I think you hit on what irritates me about that show.
Pam - nice recipe, I'll definitely try this in the future. I think you "could" actually make this on the hood of a car - don't need to cook anything...presenting Pam in her new show - Chevy Chef!
Kris,
Like everyone else, I seem to have a love hate relationship w/ the Food Network, but it always seems to be on in the background. So much better than MTV nowadays. And I think it's actually a good thing that you don't have cable...we pay over $70 bucks a month for that crap!
Bandini,
Haha! That'll be a post for another day!
Dylan,
I know what you mean about the packaged stuff. Hell, whenever I tell my parents that I used a jar of marinated artichoke hearts in something, they give me the "Ai-yah! That's expensive!" (In Canto of course!)
Hey, and no fair talkin' about BBQ's without an invite!
Mealcentric,
The other day I watched her do a "romantic" themed show where she did everything outside wearing a peasant blouse and then set up this over the top picnic table with old books and poems for her "guests." Made me wanna puke!
Kirk,
I'm gonna pitch that to Food TV right now! LOL!
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